Exordium
by Redonkgirl99
Summary: Time travels fast. Unfortunately, the ticking of the clock is not the only constant in this universe. No matter who you are, it always comes around. No can escape it and one day every single living person will succumb to it. We can't stop death. But we can fight the one who brings it. Sequel to The Blood of the Covenant, Steal a Sailor From the Sea, and The Defender
1. Parties Weren't Meant to Last

_Say say two thousand zero zero party over, oops, out of time_

 **2007**

 _So tonight I'm gonna party like it's nineteen ninety-nine!_

 **NEW YORK CITY**

"You know the party is inside, right?"

His words had clearly startled her, but that melted away once she realized who it was and she gave him small smile that never quite reached her eyes; the running trend with every single emotion she'd ever expressed. He'd once tried to figure out how a lively person like himself could produce a daughter with such permanent melancholy, but he'd pushed those thoughts away before they could reveal the uncomfortable truth.

"It's not really a party," she pointed out, turning back to her previous position with her hands on the balcony rail "It's just a rehearsal dinner."

"There's dancing and booze. It's a party," her father replied, taking the few steps to stand next to her; the pair quiet for a moment before he spoke again "You're nervous."

"I guess," she replied, shrugging slightly as if tomorrow wasn't one of the biggest days of her life "It doesn't feel real."

"How do you think I feel? I'm _way_ too young to have a daughter who's getting married," he said, his voice split between serious and joking. The lack of vocal response from the woman next to him was expected, but he didn't notice the way her eyes changed from looking out at the expanse of the city in front of them to a sharp upward motion of annoyance.

Again, it was quiet between the two of them as they both opted to focus on the glowing skyscrapers instead of each other; neither of them were quite sure what to say, but that wasn't anything special. They'd been that way with one another for a very long time.

"Can I come out here?"

The pair turned to look at the much smaller person that stood in the doorway as she looked apprehensively out at the balcony. Almost simultaneously, the two adults softened into their own versions of sweet smiles for the child who stood in front of them; they were two very different people, but the one thing they always had in common was how deeply they loved the youngest member of their little family.

"Course, Munchkin," her father said, scooting so she could stand between the two adults "Don't have to ask. We're too rich to ask if we can do things or not. We just do it."

"Don't listen to him," the woman replied, her annoyance relaxing back into a smile for her younger sister, but not before it was received by her father "What's up?"

"It's loud in there," she said with a shrug "And I don't know anybody."

"Well, don't worry; there will be more people you know tomorrow."

Maybe it was the slight pause before it, or the wobbly way it came out, but something in the last word of the sentence inspired the younger sister to voice the question that seemed to be on everyone's minds.

"Are you nervous?"

The father made a sound around the sip he was taking from his glass of scotch and he spoke before his daughter could answer the question that had been directed at her.

"See? Even she noticed."

"Nerves are normal," the eldest replied, a slight edge to her voice now "Everybody gets them before their wedding."

"Sure, sure," he replied incredulously before silence fell over the small family, but not in a way that inspired awkwardness; their attentions were too captivated for them to feel weird about the fact they were all standing there without saying anything. But, what they had no way of knowing was that none of them were interested in the same thing.

The father was looking at the city below them; all of the sparkling lights catching his half-drunk fancy. But, it wasn't just the expansive city landscape that interested him, no, he was looking at something far more specific than that. His eyes focused in on a familiar building that wasn't the tallest in the city, but also wasn't your average high-rise either. If you knew nothing about him, you would wonder why that particular structure held his attention, but most people did know at least something about him and they knew that building was his own.

The younger sister who was barely peeping over the edge of the rail, on the other hand, wasn't focusing on any part of the city. Seemingly the shine of New York didn't grab her attention the way it did for so many others. Maybe this was because she'd lived here for a while or she was used to decadence. But, maybe it was because there was something that was far more interesting to her. Her eyes were cast out as far as she could see, out to the place where the bright city met the dark sky. The horizon had a tendency to pull her in, no matter the circumstances, and tonight was no exception.

Finally, the eldest daughter, whose eyes were on something completely unlike that of her father's and sister's fixations.

"You know," Tony Stark said suddenly, his words far more contemplative than they had been before "You could say you don't feel good and we could just take off. Forget all these people and pretend like you aren't supposed to get married tomorrow."

"That would be fun," Maria Stark said with a small smile "We could drive away like they do in movies."

"Please," Theresa Stark replied, a sarcastic tinge to her words as her eyes never left the stars that shined above them "Where would we go?"

 **2018**

 **SPACE**

"Where are we going?"

The question that broke the silence was asked by the timid (but growing more confident every day) young woman who sat in one of the seats in the front. The response was varied throughout the cockpit; it ranged from cluelessness (the other woman in the front seats and the man that sat in the very back), sheepish (one of the men in the center piloting seats), irritation (the _other_ one in the center), and complete disinterest (the woman and the teenager in the back).

"Oh, you know, somewhere that has a job, a-a good paying one too! Lots of units coming our way once we get there." And, in a second, those words made it stunningly clear why the man in the center had seemed sheepish.

"You have no idea where we're going, do ya, Quill?"

"No, of course I do, it's just not that interesting of a name and-." Before he could even finish that obvious lie, everyone else in the cockpit interrupted him in one way or another; some with groans, other with mutters, but all equally disparaging "Well, I don't see the rest of you coming up with any jobs!"

"I said we oughta go to Contraxia! But, _noooo._ Since Peter Quill thinks we should head in the opposite direction, we head in the opposite direction, even though there ain't no paying job to be had this way!"

"I'm the Captain, Rocket! This is my ship! I get to decide where we go!" Peter replied, getting riled now too.

"Well, then maybe we need a new captain. How does a mutiny sound to the rest of you?" Rocket exploded back, his eyes never leaving Peter as he glared.

"We're not having a mutiny, Rocket," the only voice of reason stated, her eyes flicking up to the ceiling as if some god would appear and explain to her why she put up with these people.

"Well, then we'll jettison you too, Gamora," Rocket replied with a snarl, finally moving to look at someone else "Drax, you in?"

"There is a lack of honor in so quickly turning on our friends even though they have been by our sides for many years," Drax replied sagely.

"I'll give you some of my Krylorian beer stash."

"Your tyranny cannot be suffered any longer, Quill."

As Peter scoffed in outrage at how easily Drax was bought, the young woman who had started this whole conversation spoke up again.

"What is mutiny?"

"It's where we rise up and take what's ours," Rocket replied, Peter sputtering in indignation.

"No, no, that's _not_ what mutiny is, Mantis," he said "It's where you turn on your dear friend because you're a little bitch who's in a bad mood. It's being a traitor."

"That sounds fun," Mantis giggled "I would like to be a little bitch traitor."

"That's a bad thing!" Peter exclaimed as he watched the situation get more and more out of hand.

"Groot, how about you?" Rocket asked, the teenager not even raising his eyes from the gaming device in his hands.

"I am Groot."

"Well, stop playing that thing and pay attention!" Peter replied hysterically "Rocket is trying to start a mutiny against me, like a complete jerk."

"I am Groot?"

 _"Yes,_ Groot, you _can_ have a viewing pad in your room if we overthrow Quill," Rocket said with a smug smile at Peter, who once again sputtered before getting himself together enough to form a coherent response.

"I-I was _not_ the only one who said he couldn't have that!" He said, his eyes never leaving Rocket as he called to the woman who sat behind the not-raccoon "Tessa, back me up!"

…

"Tessa?!"

…

Both Peter and Rocket broke at the same time to look back at the woman who almost always had a snappy retort ready, but instead of finding her laughing or scoffing like she always did at all the ridiculous arguments the ragtag group got into, her brow was furrowed as she slumped in her seat. In fact, it became clear she hadn't been listening to anything that had been said; her eyes focusing on nothing as she listened to whatever was playing through her personal speakers.

"Tess?" Rocket asked, taking a complete 180 from not a minute ago as he recognized the serious expression on her face as being completely genuine (and very worrying because of it). The normally jovial woman looked downright somber as she pulled the speakers from her ears and mussed her bobbed blonde hair in the process, although she made no move to fix it. It was clear that whatever was going on took precedence over her physical appearance "Tessa, what's wrong?"

"It was hard to clear up the static and stuff, but…" Tessa mumbled before she cleared her throat, for the first time indicating that she could hear what they were saying "Listen to this."

She tapped a few times on her display and before anyone could ask what she was doing, a message played for all of them to hear.

 _"This is the Asgardian refugee vessel Statesman. We are under assault. I repeat, we are under assault Engines are dead. Life support failing. Requesting aid from any vessel within range. Our crew is made up of Asgardian families, we have very few soldiers here. This is not a warcraft. I repeat, this is NOT a warcraft."_

 **IRELAND**

If anyone was to look, she would've appeared like any other person in the city or, at least, that was the hope. There wasn't much she could do about her facial features short of actual plastic surgery (which wasn't something she would ever even consider) and a change of hair color could only alter so much about her features. It had been necessary for her to take up a different look, just as everyone else had, but she'd found that the red hair was actually kind of nice even if she hadn't had much of a choice in the matter.

Given the fact that the streets were empty and the darkness allowed her some shroud, she wasn't that worried about being recognized right now. But, that didn't stop herself from checking her flip phone for what felt like the 100th time in ten minutes. He wasn't _late,_ it was just that, well… she just couldn't help but be jumpy.

She did another quick cursory look around the square she stood in. They'd scoped out the place weeks in advance and there was nothing to be worry about in terms of cameras, it was just something she'd become accustomed to doing. A few years ago (and what felt like lifetimes) she'd been told that looking over her shoulder needed to become a second nature. Well, for better or worse, it had and she found herself acting like the very spy that had said that to her.

She sensed the familiar energy before she saw him and when he spoke, she wasn't startled at all, even though she was facing away.

"Wanda?"

She turned with familiar but wary eyes and gave him a small smile as a greeting. He looked very different from the last time she'd seen him, but it wasn't hard to recognize him, even if she was just going off of the connection between the power at her fingertips and their source in his head.

"Hello, Viz."

For a moment it was quiet between the pair. It had taken two years for Vision to decide to reach out and find a way to communicate to the members of the Avengers that he wished to see them. Even then, it had taken time for them to accept the fact that he just wanted to know how they were doing and meant no harm. But, all of that work had culminated on this day and now it seemed that neither of them knew what to say.

"You look well," Vision finally managed hesitantly, Wanda nodding slightly.

"You too," she said before smiling a bit wider "If a little different."

Vision chuckled slightly at the comment and lifted his hands slightly as recognition of his current physical appearance. The device that hid his true form behind the veil of a human man was likely not created for him to have secret meetings with fugitives, but he used it now anyway.

"I thought some discretion was necessary," he said simply, Wanda nodding in agreement.

"Good thought," she said before turning her body slightly "Would you like to sit down?"

"Ah, yes," Vision said, only stumbling over his words for a moment before he agreed; the pair taking a seat at the closed café's outdoor tables and allowing the silence to go on just a little bit too long. It wasn't either of their faults, honestly; after everything that had happened two years ago and all of the time that had past, what was there to say now? What could they say?

"How—." Vision only stuttered slightly on the word "How is everyone?

"They are—." This time, there was a truly noticeable pause before Wanda gathered her thoughts enough to give an answer, although it was not exactly comprehensive "Well. They are all well."

"That's good," Vision said, just as awkward in his delivery as she was "I… I heard some whispers when I was trying to find you all. That attempted attack in Johannesburg…"

The question went unasked, but it was clear in his voice that he was wondering. Wanda weighed her options for a moment before deciding there was no real threat in allowing him this information.

"Yes, that was us," she confirmed "We are just trying to help."

"You are," Vision replied, clearly trying to show his stance more than assure her of the good in their actions; she already knew what they were doing was right "You saved many people's lives."

"It's our job," Wanda said simply, no room for adjustment or arguing; just the facts.

Vision nodded even though she wasn't looking for any response in particular before they both fell to silence again.

"How…?" He stumbled over his own question before he attempted to push onwards "How are Pietro and—?"

"They are good," Wanda finally said, cutting his statement short "They are both doing very well. We… We are happy, Viz."

"That is very good," Vision said, his voice and expression genuine enough for Wanda to relax slightly. Although they had all been suspicious behind the reasons he'd gotten into contact with them (how could they not? This was the perfect setup for a trap), his actual interactions with her felt very real, like he truly wanted to know how they were fairing. It seemed that their decision to trust him (somewhat) and send Wanda to meet with him had been the right one.

And, sure, it was a little awkward right now. How could it not be after everything that had happened two years ago? It was an honest shock that Vision wanted to see them again and he was undoubtedly surprised that they were willing after what they'd been through because of the Accords he'd fought for. But, all of that didn't seem unfixable now and it slowly seemed to be repairing itself. There were many questions still to be asked— how each member of their team was doing for one— and issues to deal with, but they would get to that. It would just take some time. They just needed to give it time.

But, it seemed that time wasn't on their side.

Wanda felt it in her bones before anything else. She felt the shift in the air and the crackle in her fingertips as it sensed something new. Something completely alien.

Before she could truly quantify this or say anything, Vision cried out in pain; a signal that it wasn't all in her head. She stood as both her eyes and other senses searched the area to find the source of whatever was happening right now. Whatever was causing the stone in Vision's head—the one that had given her the abilities that hissed at her nails currently—to sear in his mind couldn't be anything good.

"Are you alright?" She asked, holding her hand out towards him without looking as her eyes danced around the dark square in search of the cause "Vis—?"

Now, it was Wanda's turn to cry out of pain, but also in shock as a hard force rammed against her side and sent her flying into one of the buildings that surrounded them. The softest of whimpers left her mouth as she raised her head and, through her fuzzy and double perspective, she saw how Vision was being attacked by two people that didn't look human at all.

Although the side that had been thrown into the brick screamed at her, Wanda pushed herself up and raised her hand; the red around her fingers suddenly shooting outwards and flinging the unknown away from where they'd had Vision pinned with something digging into his head. Then she sent a powerful blast into the other and sent them backwards into a building. The young woman staggered to her feet and grabbed Vision by the arm; hefting him up so the two of them could begin to stumble away.

Whatever had been done to Vision had caused his disguise to drop and was clearly taking a real toll on him. As the pair entered a train terminal, he fell to the ground.

"Wanda," he said through labored breathing "Go."

"No," she replied, conviction to stay and hurt that he'd even suggested it in her tone in equal measure "I'm not leaving you here."

"You have to," Vision replied, Wanda shaking her head vehemently as the red energy began to appear around her fingertips "Wanda, there are two of them, you—."

Before he could finish the sentence, the attackers appeared again, and now that she had a clear head she could fully take in how they looked. They were undoubtedly otherworldly and although she didn't know what they could do, she steeled herself for a fight. She couldn't just leave Vision behind; she would never do that to somebody and, even if she could, she wouldn't let whoever these people were get their hands on the power in his head.

For a moment, all of them were tense as they sensed that none of the others were willing to back down; the only sound interrupting their standoff was that of a train that rattled across the track behind Wanda and Vision and only once it was gone did any of them move.

For a moment, Wanda wondered if the way the two aliens had turned their eyes to something behind her was a childish distraction tactic, but then she felt it. The softest of brushes against her mind.

She knew she wasn't alone.

She didn't even attempt to stop the spear that flew past her and Vision, she knew she didn't have to. She knew it would be caught.

It seemed that from every dark corner of the terminal appeared an ally; behind them, Steve Rogers stalked out of the shadows, above, Sam Wilson swooped down to land a kick on one of their attackers, and in front of them seemed to materialize Natasha Romanov with death in her eyes. The aliens didn't stand a chance.

Especially when the last two appeared.

The arrival of one was heralded by wind rustling Wanda's hair and blue streaks of light surrounding one of the foes until he was completely thrown off his balance, something that was used to the advantage of the last member of their team to arrive.

If it was anyone else, Wanda would've been gripped with fear at the small frame that charged the alien more than double her size, but instead, all she felt was _love._

With one hit, she sent him flying backwards and before Wanda and Vision could fully comprehend what was happening, their assailants were down.

"We don't want to kill you," Natasha said, her glare enough of a threat on its own "But we will."

Then, as quickly as they appeared, they were gone.

For a moment it was quiet and then the others turned to face Wanda; the ones she cared about the most sending her wry smiles. The taller of the two, the man, reached up to pull the tie out of his hair and allowed his brown curls to bounce free around his face. He didn't even have to say anything for Wanda to know exactly what he was thinking.

Of course, the small woman didn't have to either, but nevertheless she did as she ran her hand through her light brown hair that was slowly growing back from where it had been shorn close to her head.

"We left you alone for half an hour," Maria, her soulmate, said simply.

 **NEW YORK CITY**

He liked to think he'd made the healthy choice and moved on.

He reconnected with the one that got away and got her down the aisle, although everyone had felt the absences. He worked to build up what remained of the team to get it like it once was, but it was pretty clear it never could be anything close to what it had been. He even made new modifications to suits in case anything were to happen, but it seemed that the world had fallen silent.

Maybe that was a good thing: the rest of the world seemed to think so. But, he didn't like the fact there was nothing to distract him from the truth. No matter how he tried to fill the void inside of him with teaching a thing or two to the kid (who clearly didn't appreciate his tactics, as he quickly went from calling Happy every day to practically avoiding him) or ignore the ever nagging questions in his mind by cranking the music up and focusing on the mechanics in front of him, he still found himself wondering the same thing.

What had he done?

He was two for two on driving away the people he was supposed to look after and, not only that, there was no way for him to make it up to them now. He didn't even know where they were. In fact, he was pretty certain that his eldest daughter was dead, so how could he try to make amends with her? And as for the youngest, well… She'd made her choice and he'd made his. They'd both have to live with that now.

But, it was hard to live with, and even on nice summer days like this one, he couldn't help but think about it. He thought about what he could've done differently. He asked himself where on Earth they could be. He wondered if they would, or even if they _could,_ ever come back.

Bruce Banner did.

That's all that was ringing in his ears right now; Bruce was _alive_ and standing right in front of him. The fact that this guy in a cloak was there too hardly even registered to him, all he could think about was how Bruce had disappeared before his youngest had and had dropped off the grid just as much as his eldest and yet here he was; alive and seemingly well.

But, before he could ask one of the million questions he had, Bruce spoke.

"I know I have a lot to explain," he said before exchanging a look with the apparent magician "But, we need your help, Tony."

Then, before he knew it, he was standing in an old looking building filled with antiquities that Pepper would probably be able to date, but just appeared like old junk to him. The man, Strange, swept around the room in a way that let Tony know that he was familiar with the place, but he could hardly bring himself to care. Something was happening and Bruce was a part of it, that much was clear.

"What is going on?" He finally managed, turning his body to completely face Bruce and blanking everything else around him "Bruce, where have you been? I don't know if you noticed, but we could've used you about two years ago."

"I'm sorry, Tony, it's complicated and— wait, two years ago?" Bruce exchanged a quick look with the man that stood behind Tony "What happened two years ago?"

"Where have you been?" Tony repeated, now out of complete disbelief; what rock could he have been under to not know about what had gone down between the Avengers?

"If we could put a hold on all questions until the others get here, that would be great," Strange said, Tony whirling around to face him.

"What 'others?'" He asked, unable to keep the intention behind his question out of his voice, which Strange picked up on and scoffed slightly about before he answered.

"Relax, I'm not bringing in your exes," he said simply before sighing "This situation… We're going to need the strongest we've got. They're reclusive, though; they don't care for the spotlight the way you and your pals do. So, I'm not even sure if they'll—."

Before Strange could finish his sentence, a portal opened between the two Avengers and the master of the mystical arts. From this angle, Bruce and Tony could just barely see how Strange respectfully tipped his head before he spoke.

"Thank you for joining us. I know this isn't what you usually deal with, but trust me, this is something you'll want to be a part of."

"I've learned better than to ignore the dimension sorcerer when he shows up in my living room."

Before he even saw her, Tony felt his insides curdle at the familiar voice, and it was clear when she laid her eyes on him that the feeling was mutual.

"Jesus, Strange," The Black Sky said, tearing her mask and hood off to reveal the annoyed expression of Noriko Temple "Warn me about any Avengers next time."


	2. We Ain't Got Time to Chat

"Alright, Guardians. Don't forget, this might be dangerous, so let's put on our mean faces."

When no response came to his words (not surprising to be perfectly honest), Peter looked up from where he was focusing on the controls and to the rest of the ship. For the most part, everyone was sitting in their seats quietly; undoubtedly preparing themselves for whatever they would find when they arrived at the source of the message. But all Peter really noticed was what was happening next to him.

"God, guys," he said, disgust and disbelief in his voice equally "Could you not?"

"Mind your business, Quill," Rocket snarled at him, although his body didn't get nearly as tense as it would usually when he was annoyed.

"How can I when you two are all over each other _three_ feet away from me?" Peter replied before turning his eyes to the other person causing his misery "You're going flying if we crash."

"Then don't crash, Genius," Tessa replied, not moving from her position (kneeling in front of Rocket's seat with her head leaning against his shoulder) in the slightest. In fact, she seemed to cuddle even more into him; Peter just barely catching what sounded like a purr as Rocket rubbed his cheek against hers.

"I like it better when you're fighting."

That was a lie, of course; no one liked it when they were _really_ fighting. To everyone's relief, they'd mellowed out over the past four years and, while teasing and snappy comments were par for the course, they were very rarely truly at one another's throats. But, when they were, they were at it for _days._ It usually got to the point where it became completely unbearable to be around either of them as all they did was yell at each other or sulk.

But, it never lasted forever and at some point they'd make up and they'd enter the stage they were in right now; the touchy-feely one. They weren't people particularly inclined to PDA, but they certainly were shameless when they were in the mood, which is why Tessa was all wrapped up around Rocket without a hint of hesitation. This part mercifully only lasted a few days before they were back to their normal selves, but it was always an uncomfortable (and nerve-wracking when entering a room they were in alone) time on the ship.

"Groot, I thought I told you to stop playing," Tessa said, lifting her head up from Rocket's shoulder to look back at the uninterested teen "Don't make me ask again."

"I am Groot!"

"You do _not_ speak to your mother that way, you hear me?!" Rocket said, whipping around in his seat to face him "You got some acorns on you, kid. Ever since you got a little sap, you're a total d-hole. Keep it up, and I'm gonna smash that thing to pieces!"

"Rocky, Rocky," Tessa murmured, patting him on the shoulder to calm him enough so that he sat back down on his seat (although the grumbling about "that ungrateful kid" never stopped). Then, she looked back at Groot, who now seemed to be keeping his eyes on the game out of something other than his disinterest with the world "I know you didn't mean that, Groot, so would you please just put that away?"

Even though he rolled his eyes, it was clear that there wasn't much conviction behind it and he switched off the game as she'd asked.

"Thank you," Tessa said with a smile, Groot still attempting to be disaffected, but quite clearly caring now. Before anything else could be said, though, the ship cruised into the quadrant where the message had come from and it became clear that it hadn't all been for a trap.

"What happened?"

Tessa sat up slightly as she took in the way countless bodies floated in the darkness around them. She didn't know much about how people categorized these things, but looking at how many lifeless forms surrounded their ship, she couldn't help but classify this as a genocide.

"Looks like we're not getting paid," Rocket muttered, Tessa reaching back to elbow him in the gut. For a moment, they continued to drift aimlessly around the mass space grave, but the eerie silence was suddenly broken by a man hitting the front of the ship.

"Wipers! Wipers! Get it off!" Rocket exclaimed, but before anyone could make a move to do anything of the sort, they all realized what they were seeing. Although, it wasn't confirmed until they hauled him into the ship and laid him on one of their tables

"How the hell is this dude still alive?" Peter voiced everyone's question, even though it was rapidly fading into the back of their minds as they took in the man they'd picked up.

"He is not a dude," Drax said, affronted by the very suggestion "You're a dude. This... This is a man. Handsome, muscular man."

"I'm muscular," Peter replied, Tessa snorting and noticing the way her best friend sent her a look; his self-esteem was way too easy to shake.

"Who are you kidding, Quill? You're one sandwich away from fat," Rocket said, gaining a dirty look from his wife that didn't quite prevent her lips from curling slightly.

"It's true. You have put on a little weight," Drax agreed.

"What?" Peter demanded, Drax gesturing to his stomach in chin in a way that made it impossible for Tessa to not laugh at slightly "Wait, you think so too?"

"I just thought you were preparing for hibernation," his best friend replied, a level of earnestness to her reply that kept Peter from realizing exactly what she was saying for a few seconds.

"He is anxious. Angry. He feels tremendous loss and guilt," Mantis interjected before any more comments on Peter's weight could be made.

"He's a hottie," Tessa murmured in agreement with what everyone else had been saying, but she also sent a sideways smile at the man who had puffed up his chest a little bit at her words "He's not my type, though."

"Wow. This is a real wake-up call for me," Peter said, hardly even noticing how Rocket smiled in a self-satisfied manner "Okay. I'm gonna get a Bowflex. I'm gonna commit. I'm gonna get some dumbbells."

"You know you can't eat dumbbells, right?" Rocket said, tearing his eyes away from Tessa to deliver that snappy comment.

"It's like his muscles are made of Chitauri metal fiber," Gamora said, Peter's jaw clenching as he watched her drag her fingers across the man's arm, something that Tessa not-so-subtly did as well. What Gamora has said was right; he was ripped as hell.

"Stop massaging his muscles," Peter muttered, Gamora replying with a sarcastic expression and dropping his arm back onto the table.

"I think it's time to wake him up," Tessa suggested, knowing that if this went any farther Peter might actually lose it "Mantis?"

"Wake."

The man shot off the table, roaring in a way that none of them had ever heard, and Tessa drew her weapon on instinct as he looked around the ship. She didn't lower it even when he seemed to calm down somewhat. Only once he turned to face them and Tessa was able to take in the full wary expression of the man that stood opposite did she falter and that was because she just realized that maybe he was just as suspicious of them as they were of him.

"Who the hell are you guys?"

.

"The entire time I knew Thanos, he only ever had one goal: to bring balance to the Universe by wiping out half of all life. He used to kill people planet by planet, massacre by massacre. Including my own. If he gets all six Infinity Stones, he can do it with the snap of his fingers, like this."

Tessa couldn't help but flinch at the sharp sound that echoed throughout the ship. She hadn't been sure what was in store for them when she'd first laid eyes on the bodies that drifted around them, but she hadn't expected something quite this bad, which was saying something.

Her mind couldn't help but drift to what Gamora had told her about the life she'd lived before she attacked the pair of Ravagers on Xandar that fateful day. It wasn't like she'd told her the excruciating details of the matter, but Tessa had been around long enough to recognize that what Gamora had been through was unlike anything else in the universe. And all of it had been at the hands of one man; the one that had been the cause of the distress signal.

"You seem to know a great deal about Thanos," the man they'd picked up said, pulling Tessa out of her thoughts. She sent a sideways look to the man who sat by her side and they communicated to each other their thoughts on the matter wordlessly.

"Gamora..." Drax sighed before answering Thor's unasked question "Is the daughter of Thanos."

"Your father killed my brother."

"Adopted!" Tessa interjected hurriedly, hopping out of her seat in the hopes that if anything akin to violence broke out, she'd be able to end it without too much trouble. Although, looking at the state of Thor, she doubted that all seven of them combined could really put a dent in his toned body "Gamora was adopted and not in a good way. No one hates Thanos more than she does."

"Look," Thor said, more towards Gamora but obviously not blanking the words that Tessa had spoken "Before my father died, he told me I had a half-sister... that he imprisoned in Hell. Then she returned home, and stabbed me in the eye, so... I had to kill her. It's life, there was nothing else. And I feel your pain."

Tessa couldn't help the small smile that appeared on her face at that; she wasn't sure what to make of this man at first. He was clearly strong if he survived Thanos and then the aimless drifting out in space, but strength didn't mean much to her if she didn't know exactly what their intentions were. It seemed that his were true, though, and they could work with that.

But, that small smile wiped off her face at the voice that suddenly spoke up.

"I feel your pain, as well. I mean it's not a competition, but I've been through a lot." Tessa turned to see how Peter was slowly trying to edge in on the conversation "My father killed my mother, then I had to kill my father. And that was hard. Probably even harder than having to kill a sister. Plus, I came out with both of my eyes."

"How do I open this thing? Is there some sort of a four-digit code maybe? Maybe a birth date or something?" Thor asked, ignoring Peter as he tapped at the panel on the wall while everyone else frowned

"Whatchya doing there, Point Break?"

Thor turned to look at Tessa suddenly, who tilted her head in question at his expression. He looked at her funny, as if he was actually looking at her for the first time since he was pulled into this ship, but before she could truly discern what emotions that were flitting across his face, it disappeared and he answered her question.

"Taking your pod."

"You'll not be taking our pod today, sir," Peter called and Tessa found herself completely forgetting about the way Thor had just been looking at her and she instead turned to look at her best friend with a dumbfounded expression.

"Are you _serious?"_ She demanded, Peter sending her a look that meant "shut up."

"Quill, are you making your voice deeper?" Rocket added, the couple exchanging a look before turning their eyes back to the man who looked a little sheepish but doubled down.

"No," he said in that same voice, Tessa plopping down on her seat and kicking her feet up on the table; this wasn't even worth devoting a small percentage of her mental capacities to. Besides, it was clear they were going to be here a while and she doubted they were going make any important decisions anytime soon.

"Are you mocking me?"

If Thanos already had two stones, as Thor claimed, then they were fucked anyway. The five of them had only barely managed to hold _one_ of those things, what kind of a creature could wield two of them? Let alone all six.

"Are you mocking me?"

They would need quite a bit of firepower to take him down. Not even a hadron collider would suffice this time. Could they just throw him into a black hole? That would be nice; wouldn't even have to get their hands dirty.

"You just did it again."

Hell, this all relied on them being able to _find_ the son of a bitch. It wasn't like he was sitting under a neon sign with the words "MAD TITAN TONIGHT" flashing over and over.

"He's trying to copy me."

"Alright, alright, enough already!" Tessa finally broke in, both of the men with competing Shakespearian accents falling silent "Thor, do you know where Thanos is headed next?"

"Nowhere."

Tessa shut her eyes in exasperation; any hope she'd had that dealing with this newcomer would go smoothly was disappearing with each difficult answer he gave to her questions.

"He must be going somewhere," Gamora replied.

"No. Nowhere. It's a place," Thor expanded, realization blooming in Tessa chest as she remembered the barely-a-planet she'd spent a shitty two hours on.

"We've been there. It sucks," Peter said, Tessa unable to appreciate how they were all on the same page as she watched the Asgardian make his way around the cabin like he owned the place. Maybe it was his status, maybe it was that he truly did not care anymore, but he didn't seem to pay much heed to what was traditionally acceptable when in someone else's home.

"Excuse me, that's our food," Peter said as Thor helped himself, Tessa practically calling in her head his response.

"Not anymore."

"Thor," Gamora interjected, far more focused on the issues at hand than anyone else "Why would he go to Nowhere?"

"Because for years, the Reality Stone has been safely stored there with a man we call the Collector," Thor explained.

"If it's with the Collector, then it's not safe," Peter replied, recalling their own dealings with the strange man that decided his time was best spent throwing people in glass cages "Only an idiot would give that man a stone."

"Or a genius," Thor said, sounding a tiny bit affronted now.

"He could be going for any of the other ones," Tessa pointed out "You say he got Space from you, maybe he's going for Time or Magma or whatever, not the one the Collector's got."

"Yes, Thanos already has the Space Stone and he stole the Power from Xandar when he decimated it last week, but we do not need to worry about the Time and Mind Stones. They're safe on Earth with the Avengers."

"Safe with _what now?"_ Tess demanded, putting her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes as she tried to figure out just what the words that left Thor's mouth meant. Maybe they'd seriously revamped the United Nations while she was gone.

"They're Earth's Mightiest Heroes," Thor said, truly not explaining any of the questions Tessa had although she didn't press; she didn't even know what she didn't know.

"Like Kevin Bacon?" Mantis asked.

"He may be on the team. I don't know. Haven't been there in a while," Thor replied, revealing just how little he truly knew about the Earth to Tessa. Maybe this whole "mightiest heroes" was just a bunch of bull that he was tricked into believing, just like how Kevin Bacon was a warrior and Madonna was Sovereign Queen of the United States of America in the minds of most of her teammates.

"As for the Soul Stone, no one's ever seen that. No one even knows where it is," Thor said, Tessa looking away thoughtfully and catching an expression on Gamora's face she didn't think she was meant to see "Therefore, Thanos can't get it. Therefore, he's going to Nowhere. Hence, he'll be getting the Reality Stone. You're welcome."

"Then we have to go to Nowhere now," Peter said promptly, Tessa's face screwing up.

"Then what?" She asked, Peter frowning and turning to face her.

"What're you talking about?"

"What, do you all think that we can just show up and shoot him and then go out for drinks?" Tessa demanded "This guy's got two Infinity Stones, no way we take him down with what we got right now. The only chance we've got is with one of Rocky's 'Moon Busters' and that is _literally_ suicide."

"The commanding Lady is correct," Thor said, Tessa smiling slightly at having him agree with her; she'd never admit it, but she might be developing a soft spot for god man already "Where we have to go is Nivadellir."

"That's a made up word," Drax replied as Peter sent a dirty look at his best friend for daring to get along with the new guy.

"Nidavellir is real?" Rocket interjected, his eyes lit up like a kid in the candy shop "Seriously? I mean, that place is a legend. They make the most powerful, horrific weapons to ever torment the Universe. I would very much like to go there, please."

"The rabbit is correct, and clearly the smartest one," Thor said, a soft giggle leaving Tessa's lips before she could stop herself.

"Rabbit?"

"You're saying that if we get you a fancy weapon off Nidieval Times whatever, you can take down Thanos?" Tessa asked, a small laugh of something like disbelief leaving her lips "If that's the case, I'll fly us there myself."

"Only Eitri the dwarf king can make me the weapon I need," Thor expanded, before focusing more on Tessa than ever before "I assume you're the captain and your lover is the second-in-command."

"No, no. First, me and her, we're not—." Peter started the explanation for what felt the billionth time in the eleven years he'd spent traversing the galaxy with Tessa, but Thor cut him off before he could finish.

"I was not speaking of you," he said as if that was obvious "The rabbit clearly has superior smarts to everyone on this ship, it makes sense why he would be her right hand man. I doubt there was much favoritism involved in this case."

"You're very perceptive," Rocket said, partially joking but honestly surprised that not only had Thor picked up on what people usually did their best to ignore, but had referenced it so casually.

"You seem like a strong and noble leader," Thor said, returning his attention to Tessa, who smiled at his flattery "Will you join me on my quest to Nivadellir?"

"I'm in," Tessa said with a grin "Give me, the _Captain,_ and Rocket, my _second-in-command and lover,_ ten minutes and we're right behind you."

"Wonderful. Except that I'm the captain," Peter practically exploded, even though no one seemed to truly care "Look, this is my ship. And I'm not going to— Wait, what kind of weapon are we talking about here?"

"The Thanos killing kind," Thor said simply, Tessa and Rocket exchanging a look that clearly communicated their inappropriate glee over what they would be retrieving off of Nivadellir.

"Don't you think that we should all have a weapon like that?" Peter asked.

"The janitor has a point," Tessa added, her face genuine and concealing any ulterior motives while she ignored the burning glare on the back of her head.

"No. You simply lack the strength to wield them," Thor replied, Tessa pouting slightly at that "Your bodies will crumble as you minds collapse to the madness."

"Is it weird that I wanna do it even more now?" Rocket asked, gaining an indulgent look from the woman how stood beside him.

"Yeah, but not surprising."

"If we don't go to Nowhere and Thanos retrieves another stone, he'll be too powerful to stop," Gamora pointed out.

"He already is," Thor countered, Tessa taking a step between the two groups of people with her arms raised; the woman already anticipating another ridiculous standoff and stopping it before it even got started.

"Alright, alright, arguing ain't gonna get us anywhere."

"Hey, Captain—" Rocket ignored the incredulous puff of breath from Peter as he continued to grin "How's about a compromise: we got two ships."

"Now that's an idea," Tessa said, pointing at Rocket with a pleased expression on her face before she returned to looking at everyone else "Ain't no one said we gotta to stick together, so, in the paraphrased words of Fred Whatshisname; let's split up and search for ways to kill Thanos. Rocky, Groot, and I go with beefcake to get this fabled weapon. Janitor and his posse can go to Nowhere to try and stop Thanos. All cool?"

"So cool," Peter replied, clearly bitter but willing to go along with this idea.

"Cool," Tessa said before turning on her heel and smiling at Thor "Like I said, ten minutes and the Captain, her second-in-command, and their baby are _all_ yours."

"I am _Groot."_

"You're always gonna be my baby."

.

"Hey, Rocky, did you grab an—?"

"Extra Aerorig?"

Tessa smiled at how Rocket finished her question before she could, although he couldn't see the sweet expression from his place down the hall in the engine room.

"I love you!"

"Yeah, yeah," he replied, closer to muttering now but loud enough that Tessa could hear his indulgent tone. It wasn't hard for them to pack up what they needed; it wasn't like they were going to be gone for very long or that they even had that much. All they really needed was their weapons and a change of clothes, and they could honestly get by without that last one if they really needed to. No, what they were focusing on right now was firepower.

As Tessa shoved her small blaster into her bag, though, she was able to officially say she'd cleaned out her bunk of all weaponry. She couldn't imagine anyone short of Thanos could go toe-to-toe with her right now.

She stood and slung the old knapsack over her shoulder as she took a cursory look around her room to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. Once she decided that, yes, she had as many explosive things in her bag as she could find, she turned on her heel to exit the room. But, instead of being able to step out into the hallway, she found herself face-to-face with someone she wasn't expecting.

"Jesus!" She exclaimed before she smiled slightly in an attempt to lighten the mood "Forgot how fucking quiet you could be."

Gamora replied with a wane smile that immediately set off all the bells in Tessa's head; it wasn't like she was the most cheery woman in the world, but she usually had more to offer than _that._

"What's up?" She asked, the pair of women far past anything resembling niceties.

"Nothing," Gamora said, reestablishing how they weren't past lying about their feelings "Just came to tell you goodbye."

"Mhm," Tessa replied, disbelief in her plain in her voice even though she opted not to push it. Instead, she readjusted the bag slightly as she tried to get a read on the expressionless expression that Gamora had perfected over the years. What she hadn't realized yet, though, was there was no easier way to reveal that something was up to the people that knew her than to make that face.

But, it wasn't like Tessa had to think very hard about it. She knew what was wrong; she would be stupid not to. So instead of pushing Gamora to talk about her horrific past or how she likely felt that it was all coming back to haunt her, Tessa opted for a different path.

"You remember that place we stopped at on, fuck, O'erlanii?" She asked, her brow furrowing as she tried to remember the exact circumstances "When we ditched everyone else because they weren't listening to us about that shady buyer?"

"Of course," Gamora replied, frowning as well now as she tried to figure out where Tessa was going with this "We ate roasted Orloni and watched the quadruple sunset."

"Yeah, three days of kicking our feet up until the rest of them came to us with their tails between their legs. Some more literally than the rest," Tessa said with a grin "I don't know why we even got back on the ship to be honest."

"We were running out of the money you stole from Peter and Rocket," Gamora supplied, Tessa laughing heartily as she remembered the exact details again.

"Yeah, that was about to put a damper on things," she allowed "Anyway, I was thinking, after all of this is over and done, we boost a pod and another two thousand units from Peter's wallet and we take another trip to that place. This time untainted by the bitter feelings we had last time."

Gamora couldn't help but smile at that; she knew what Tessa was doing and, to be honest, it was working perfectly. So even if there was a nagging voice at the back of her head that insisted there was absolutely no point, she answered the way her heart wanted to.

"When this is done?" She asked, Tessa smiling and nodding.

"When this is done."

.

"Are you sure about this?"

Tessa couldn't help but roll her eyes as she turned to face her best friend, who sent her a look of his own. She dropped her bag with a frightening thud before she crossed her arms and continued to have this nonverbal argument with Peter. He responded with a sigh and a shake of his head as the silence continued.

"I just don't get why you trust him!" Peter finally exploded, Tessa letting go of the breath she was holding.

"I never said that I did," Tessa replied "But I see no reason to actively distrust him. I was the one who pointed out we need a weapon, Peter, and if he can get one then I am all in."

"With _that_ guy?!" Peter asked incredulously, gesturing to where Thor was eating Yaka spread right out of canister "Listen, I want to take down Thanos just as much as the next sane person, but I'm not sure you should be putting all your chips on Mr. Big and Muscly over there."

"I'm not!" Tessa said, her voice raising in pitch slightly "Listen, if it turns out that he's actually lying or not as jacked as he seems, then Rocket and I will take care of it and meet you guys on Nowhere. Worst case scenario we have to drop him, best case he gets a sick weapon from this Rivendell place and he tears Thanos apart."

Peter sighed and ran his fingers through his russet curls, but Tessa didn't feel too bad about it as she noticed the way a smile began to pull at the edges of his lips. They'd been best friends long enough for her to know when she'd gotten through to him.

"You know the only reason Rocket suggested this is because he wants you three to be were Thanos isn't, right?" Peter asked, Tessa chuckling at the truth that her best friend was speaking and the fact that he had clearly moved on to accepting that this was the plan.

"You really shouldn't be trying to poison our _Captain_ against me, Quill," Rocket said as he walked past the pair, gaining a legitimately dirty look from the man it was directed at as Tessa gave a hearty laugh.

"I get the feeling that's not going away anytime soon," Peter muttered.

"Well, _I'm_ never letting it go," Tessa replied, getting her friend to crack an unwilling smile.

"Could've predicted that," he replied before sighing and becoming genuine "Be careful. Don't do anything stupid."

 _"Me?"_ Tessa replied, faux-offended at the very suggestion _"Careful?_ Never!"

Peter chuckled before he pulled Tessa into a quick hug, the type that they gave each other whenever they separated for whatever reason (which wasn't often), but when they pulled back they both noticed that there was something _different_ in each other's eyes. Something that neither one of them wanted to acknowledge, possible out of fear that if they did, their gut feeling would come true.

So, they both pushed it down and gave each other the customary punches on the arm that served as their playful goodbye.

"Bye, Drax," Tessa said as she hefted her bag back over her shoulder "See ya later, alligator."

"In a while, croc-o-dile," Mantis said with a giggle, Tessa shooting her a finger gun as she nailed the goodbye that the pair had practiced for months before she turned that hand to gesture at Gamora.

"You better empty out your calendar for when this is done," she said, making the woman chuckle slightly and nod.

"Wait, wh-what does that mean?" Peter asked, already wary of whatever the pair of women had cooked up.

"It means you better not throw around your units, because Gamora and I've got plans and I'm certainly not paying," Tessa replied, dropping her bag in the ship and sitting down in the seat behind the pilot's. Once Groot and Thor had also taken their seats, Rocket grabbed ahold of the controls and sent the guardians that planned to go to Nowhere a toothy grin.

"I bid you farewell and good luck, morons."


	3. Unlikely Tolerance

"Hold on. Time out. What the hell?"

Even though it had been quite a while since Tony had seen her other than in grainy security camera footage on the news, it was still clearly Noriko Temple that stood in front of him today. Although, it was obvious that the time since the confrontation in the diner had been much more altering to her than they had been to him. While all he had gained in the past couple of years were some more grey hairs and maybe a handful of wrinkles, it was clear that Noriko had grown from teenager to young adult. A quick moment of trying to remember the age he'd found when digging into her school records revealed to him that she must currently be around eighteen years old.

But, what caught Tony's eye even more than her maturing features was what she used to cover them. The aforementioned security footage never gave him a really good look at what the vigilante elected to wear these days, although he had been able to tell she'd traded in her hoodie for something more cohesive. When he'd first seen it, he'd thought that she'd made something in an attempt to emulate what he'd offered her in the diner, but as he looked at it in person he could clearly see that it was made with very different variables and purposes in mind. No sleek lines and high tech systems, only bulky material and Kevlar to keep both the knives and the cold out. And, it was _definitely_ not cobbled together by the girl who wore it; even if it wasn't as developed as his had been, it was made by a professional.

Noriko, on her part, seemed far less surprised or interested in the current company. Instead of looking at him in shock, she just gave Tony a once over as she walked over to the stairs and jumped up to sit on the banister—a familiar movement in what seemed to be a familiar environment—before she replied to his almost stuttered question.

"This'll shock you, but I agree. I thought Strange had better judgement," her words casual as she established her association with the man that summoned them here before her eyes slipped off of Tony and to the man beside him "You're Banner, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Bruce replied while looking at her inquisitively, trying to get a read on this girl based on her body language and Tony's reaction to her entrance "Who are you?"

"The Black Sky—Noriko—I'm a, uh, _defender_ of New York, I guess," she said, shrugging before realization lit up in her eyes "Oh, I'm going to punch you in the face. For Harlem. On principle. Later, though."

While Bruce's face morphed into something akin to horrified (and maybe even a little bit impressed), Tony scoffed to cover his floundering at this situation; his eyes never leaving Noriko even though his next words were directed at the man beside him.

"She's a vigilante out of Hell's Kitchen and Harlem, although the word cult leader couldn't help but pop into my head just then." His voice layered with biting acerbity that seemed to bounce right off of her.

"I do good things for good people and as a result they've got my back," Noriko said before a smile pulled at her lips "Not my fault you never figured out how basic kindness works."

Before Tony could reply, the sound of sparks filled the room again and they all turned to watch as Wong stepped out of the portal and, this time, the person who followed him was unrecognizable.

The two Avengers watched with furrowed brows as what looked to be a man entered the Sanctum. Most of his body was covered in a dark green suit which made it so that even the basics about him were enshrouded; the fact that he was a man and white the only things that could be extrapolated from what they could see of his physical appearance. Interestingly enough, what he used to cover himself almost entirely didn't look like much— not in the way Noriko's did— and honestly seemed to be just a shirt and pants. But, even though his outfit wasn't anywhere near as professional looking as the others, the muscles visible through the material clued them all into the fact he was likely not one to be trifled with. For a moment, he stood there as he seemed to just take in the two men that stood opposite of him, although they had no way of knowing as the entire upper half of his face was covered in fabric that was just barely tinted yellow.

"Oh, hey, Danny. What's going on?"

The newcomer swung around to face the girl sitting on the banister and before anyone could fully process what she'd said or the implications of it, he reached up and pulled off the mask to reveal bouncy blonde curls and blue eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"You really can't keep your mouth shut for two seconds, can you?"

"Nope," Noriko replied, still completely casual in the face of his anger.

There was a moment of tense silence, but before anyone else could try to deescalate it or make some sort of snappy comment, a remarkably boyish grin broke out across the man's expression (which Noriko returned with her own version of an amicable smile) and it became clear to everyone else that any kind of animosity there was strictly of the teasing sort.

"Hi," Danny said, crossing the space between them quickly and hopping up onto the banister to sit with her, even though there was no conceivable way the two of them could be balancing on it together the way they were "Must be something bad if Strange dragged both of us here."

"Must be," Noriko agreed, too casual for their consensus on the fact something must be very wrong right now. But, maybe that relaxation was because of whatever pleasure she got out of this man wrapping his arm around her to give her a soft squeeze.

"Who's he?" Banner asked, now sounding desperate as it became more and more apparent he'd missed quite a bit while he was gone.

"I'm Danny," he replied in his normal chipper tone before he lowered his voice and leaned closer to the teenager beside him "Tā shì wǒmen tǎoyàn de rén ma?"

"Méiyǒu," Noriko replied, switching languages effortlessly "Tā shì."

"Am I the only one wondering why the wizards brought in a blindfolded majority shareholder of a Fortune 500?" Tony asked, recognizing the face from the news and maybe a few functions, if only from a distance.

"He's a lot more than that," Strange said before turning to Danny with a cordial smile "Thank you for coming, Mr. Rand. We're going to need all the help we can get."

"Clearly," Danny replied, sending a pointed look at everyone else in the room "What's going on, Strange?"

.

Ironic as it was, the dark skies above never held much interest for Noriko.

That's not to say she didn't appreciate them, all of her early memories contained a low ceiling looming over her so it was nice to be outside under the open sky, it was just that the world around her already held endless things to be fascinated with. For a while there, she couldn't walk down the street without seeing something completely new to her. Once the novelty of ordinary life had worn off, though, her mind became preoccupied with the problems that surrounded her. Why worry about the stars above when there were plenty of things that needed her attention on the ground?

But, it seemed that her fate was currently entwined with that of cosmos and she would just have to suck it up.

"From the dawn of the Universe, there was nothing. Then, boom! The Big Bang sends six elemental crystals, hurdling across the virgin Universe. These Infinity Stones each control an essential aspect of existence. Space. Reality. Power. Soul. Mind. And Time."

A small part of her wanted to call bullshit, but she reminded herself who was speaking and decided that it was best to trust the word of the sorcerer. Instead, she kept her eyes on where she was picking at her short nails; a million thoughts going through her mind at the story that Wong and Strange had spun.

"Tell me his name again." Stark's voice registered, but she didn't make any move to acknowledge the words he spoke; still lost in thought as it was answered

"Thanos."

"He's a plague, Tony," Banner said, desperation tinging his words in a way Noriko heard from the victims, not the people who stopped the threats "He invades planets. He takes what he wants. He wipes out half the population. He sent Loki. The attack on New York. That's him."

That caught the young woman's attention and she couldn't help but exchange a look with Danny. Neither of them had been there when that happened (actually, Noriko could've been; no way of knowing) but they both knew the impact on New York. They lived their lives fighting against that impact; fighting the criminals that had been created by the destruction of Hell's Kitchen.

"These Stones," Noriko finally spoke up, eyes snapping to her in what seemed to be surprise "How many he got?"

"Two: Power and Space. Which only makes him the strongest creature in the whole Universe," Banner answered honestly, Noriko nodding slightly "If he gets his hands on all six Stones..."

"He can destroy life on a scale of hitherto unheard of," Strange said simply, the gravity of the situation being put on hold in Noriko's mind as she rolled her eyes at the way Stark leaned against one of the ancient pieces; the type that Danny would mutter about effecting his chi or something.

"Did you seriously just say 'hitherto unheard of'?" He asked, a tic in Strange's jaw before he replied.

"Are you seriously leaning on the Cauldron of the Cosmos?"

"Is that what that is?" Stark said, his snappy retort cut short when Strange smacked him with his cape; a small smile pulling at Noriko's lips for a moment before it disappeared "I'm going to allow that. If Thanos needs all six, why don't we just stick this one down the garbage disposal?"

"No can do."

"We swore an oath to protect the Time Stone with our lives," Wong explained Strange's prompt answer.

"And I swore off dairy, but Ben & Jerry's named a flavor after me, so..." Stark said with a shrug.

"Stark Raving Hazelnuts. It's not bad," Strange allowed before continuing with a look "A bit chalky."

"Whatever. Point is, things change," Stark said, Strange's jaw clenching before he turned slightly so the pair that had once been obscured from the billionaire were easily seen.

"Would you two like to weigh in at all?" He asked, barely holding back the accusatory tone in his voice that did not go unnoticed by Noriko.

"Well, I'm vegan and he's allergic to Hazelnuts, so—."

"Please, I don't think the girl whose life revolves around beating people up in back alleys is going to be of much help in this situation," Stark said, any of the easy amusement that had painted Noriko's face at her own joke disappearing and replaced by an uncomfortably even expression. She slipped off the banister and took a few steps towards Stark, her eyes unwavering, and for a moment it was quiet.

"Can we?"

It took a moment for any of them to realize that she had directed that question at Strange, but before he could answer, she was speaking again.

"Is it even possible?" She asked, her eyes sliding off of Stark and to Strange "I have a sinking suspicion that 'sticking it down the garbage disposal' won't work."

"It wouldn't," Strange confirmed "But, it doesn't matter if it's possible. It's not a path I will consider."

"Our oath to protect the Time Stone cannot change," Wong continued and, even though she said nothing, there was something a little unsettling about the thoughtful look on Noriko's face. Her expression didn't advertise a young woman that would just accept what they were saying.

"This Stone may be the best chance we have against Thanos," Strange added, a contemplative frown on Noriko's face now as she considered that idea.

"And still conversely, it may also be his best chance against us!" Stark replied, getting riled now.

"Only if we don't do our jobs."

"What is your job exactly, besides making balloon animals?"

"Enough!"

Everyone in the room fell silent at the sudden exclamation from the once wordless man and they all looked to see that his boyish countenance was now replaced with a stony expression. Danny was no longer sitting on the stairs casually, but instead was standing with his arms crossed; looking more like the man who entered the building than the one that Noriko had brought out.

"We cannot stand around arguing like this. Egos don't matter when the world is at stake. We need to take action," Danny said with conviction born of frustration before he turned to the mostly quiet man behind the others "You said that Thanos has two of these stones. Strange has another. Where are the other three?"

"Vision," Banner replied, choosing to be a responsible adult and not snarky like the others had been "Vision has the Mind Stone."

"What about the other two?" Danny said, his mind truly focused on the task at hand.

"Not on this planet," Wong stated simply "We would know otherwise."

"Are you sure about that?" Stark said, his arms crossed "Took Bruce here crashing through the roof for you to know there was a guy looking to destroy the place."

"Oh, shut up, Stark; where's the robot?" Noriko replied succinctly before anyone else could say anything. Stark sent her a look, but it didn't last as something else took over his expression; it was clear he had something on his mind other than her harsh words.

"Yeah, that's the thing," he muttered, Noriko sighing and rolling her eyes as she recognized that type of voice.

"What do you mean?" Banner spoke up.

"Two weeks ago, Vision turned off his transponder. He's offline."

 _"Another_ one of your inventions went rogue?" Noriko demanded, shaking her head in disbelief "Jesus _Christ,_ why aren't you in jail?"

"It's not—." Stark huffed "He's more than that. He's evolving."

"How do we find him?" Danny asked.

"I don't think we can… but Steve Rogers probably could," Stark said with a pained sigh, his obvious emotion on the matter doing nothing to the two Hell's Kitchen vigilantes who exchanged a look before they both rolled their eyes.

"Call him," Banner said simply, revealing to everyone just how much he'd missed in the time he'd been gone.

"It's not that easy. God, we haven't caught up in a spell, have we?" Stark said, obviously deflecting before he spoke again "The Avengers broke up. We're toast."

"Broke up?" Banner exclaimed "Like a band? Like The Beatles?"

"If Yoko was a law that only people who never took a history class would support," Noriko spoke up, her air of calm not disappearing even when Stark turned to glare at her "And Lennon is abusing it and getting off scot free as per usual."

"Is it going to be like this the entire time we're in the same room?" Stark snapped, Noriko's small smile staying on her lips "Because, there's the door, Sweetheart."

"Damn, you're so used to getting away with everything that now you've got it in your head that you can kick me out of house that ain't even yours."

"Listen, listen!" Banner finally interjected, seeing the glint in Tony's eyes that meant that this wouldn't deescalate on its own "Thor's gone. Thanos is coming. We need Steve Rogers. It doesn't matter who you're talking to or not."

Maybe the point that Bruce made was a solid one, Noriko had no way of knowing. She didn't hear it. Her senses were filled with a different sensation. One that allowed her to feel the way the dirt under her feet shifted and the way the deafening sound of the world around her became just the slightest bit quieter; the way the air stilled before the winds changed directions.

One look shared with Danny was all it took for the pair of vigilantes to pull their masks over their face and push their ways out of the sanctum; neither one paying any attention to the comments or footsteps that followed them. They'd both felt this disruption (although, Danny was more inclined to start talking about chi than Noriko) and they both knew on instinct the need to investigate.

Noriko lifted a hand to her eyes to block out the sun; her eyes adjusting enough to reveal what she already suspected to be there.

"I guess that's our cue," she said, taking in the slowly nearing spaceship.

.

"Hear me, and rejoice!"

One of Noriko's hands wrapped around the arm of a stumbling woman to set her upright while the other never left the bulky item holstered on her thigh. Everything that was happening around her was so out of her normal playing field, the weapon she wore was more of a comfort than anything else.

"You are about to die at the hands of the Children of Thanos."

Although she couldn't see his eyes and he couldn't see her mouth, Danny and Noriko exchanged a look that communicated everything they needed the other one to know. They lived with one foot grounded in the streets and the other in the plane of mysticism; spaceships weren't a part of their thought processes. But, half of the crime in New York was a direct symptom of the Incident back in 2012 and it seemed the aliens weren't quite done with them yet, so they'd better get used to it.

"Be thankful, that your meaningless lives are now contributing to—."

As the aliens in front of the group of (albeit _very_ different) humans continued to walk around as if they owned the place, Noriko gritted her teeth at the nonchalant arrogance of the beings in front of her; apparently entitlement transcended species.

"I'm sorry, Earth is closed today," Stark said, cutting off the aliens and inadvertently proving Noriko's point "You better pack it up and get outta here."

"Stone keeper," the speaking alien said, ignoring Stark in favor of Strange "Does this chattering animal speak for you?"

"Certainly not," Strange replied, his inability to keep himself from insulting Stark putting the smallest of smiles on Noriko's face, even though no one could see it "I speak for myself. There's no trespassing in this city and on this planet."

"You need to get lost, Squidward!" Stark exclaimed, not to be outdone.

Noriko watched with apathetic eyes as the smaller of the aliens muttered something to his (quite) large cohort that resulted in the latter advancing towards them. It was no surprise that this was turning into a fight, the only question was if the two Avengers present were going to act like a bunch of dumbasses.

"Hey, do you want a piece?" Stark asked, Noriko finding herself calculating exactly how much property damage that was going to cause and trying to remember if this part of New York was of any interest to the current gang leaders.

"No, not really," Banner replied with a sigh "But when do I ever get what I want?"

Noriko crossed her arms and gave her own sigh as she awaited the arrival of the other side of Dr. Banner, but as the seconds ticked by and the alien came closer, no such change came about. Noriko felt her brow furrow and she turned to look over at the man who should be green by now, but only finding him a little bit red from the strain.

"What's his deal?" She asked, her eyes flickering over to see Stark sending her a dirty look before he turned his back to her to "confer" with Banner (she could hear every word he said even though Strange and Wong stood between them).

"We're certainly having a thing," Banner muttered, green appearing around his veins but nothing more no matter how he tried.

"There's no time for a thing. That's the thing right there. Let's go," Stark demanded, Noriko actually feeling the slightest bit of sympathy for Banner at his tone "Dude, you're embarrassing me in front of the wizards."

"I can't... He won't..." Banner said, Noriko finally sighing and rolling her eyes (maybe a little overdramatically).

"Danny?" She said, her eyes still on the mess of two men that clearly weren't going to be getting their shit together anytime soon.

"Yeah?" He replied, even though he already knew what was coming, especially when Noriko finally faced him with _that_ look in her eyes.

"Light 'em up."

Danny sent her a wry smile before he turned back to face the alien that continued to come nearer, only this time he started to close the gap himself.

"He better have a rocket launcher stashed somewhere in that suit of his," Stark said, Noriko's lip twitching.

"Something like that."

Noriko's hair fluttered slightly as everyone else (including Strange) stumbled backwards. Although neither of the Avengers knew just what had happened, the most comparable thing Stark could think of was back in the day when he would demonstrate a new missile to the military. Only, this time it came without the ear bursting boom; the only sound that had accompanied that was the crashing when the alien landed flat on his back a few feet away.

Now that they'd recovered, though, they could see what exactly had caused all of that. Instead of seeing some sort of gun or bomb or even any type of debris that a weapon like that should cause, there was a golden light that shined despite the fact that it was the middle of the day. Not even the sun could put a damper on the glow that had somehow caused some level of damage to that alien. The only thing, though, was that it did not exist independently; from this distance it seemed that whatever that thing was had just been utilized by Danny Rand and continued to move as he did.

"What kind of a weapon is that?" Banner asked, clearly wondering if this was another development he'd missed in the past few years. But, instead of getting the nonchalant answer he expected from Stark, he got one that sounded determined from the girl who stood a few people to his right.

"The Iron Fist."

Before anyone could ask her to elaborate on what the hell that meant, there was a click sound and Noriko jogged forward with both pieces of the billy club attached. That momentum didn't slow, even as she attacked the smaller of the two with Danny by her side.

She was certain that sometime soon after that the others joined in on the fight, but her attention was completely engrossed with her current movements. Black Skies could beat any fighter on Earth, but no one had ever really mentioned if that dominance extended to those from off planet. It wasn't that this guy had any great moves, in fact he was hardly doing anything like traditional fighting, but he had some abilities that Noriko had never encountered before. Usually when she dodged cars it was because of super strength or an angry driver, not what seemed to be telekinesis.

The only issue, though, was that her current adversary wasn't the one causing damage to the infrastructure around them. His pal seemed to have the corner market on destruction and it wasn't like any of the other fighters were trying to dissuade him from that. So, when that portion of the fight traveled from the abandoned street to the nearby park (which could very possibly still be inhabited), Noriko trusted the others to take care of the small one and she followed the bigger guy.

From a distance, she could see how it loomed over Stark with its fist raised, obviously about to completely wallop on him. And, although a small part of her brain pointed out she could just go back to fighting the other one, she ran faster. For better or for worse, it took a moment to attack Stark and with a good placement from her billy club, Noriko halfway launched herself towards the alien; landing a hard kick across its head and falling flat on her back on the grass before she realized just why it had paused.

"Peter?!"

.

Six years ago, he'd looked into the sky one morning and something looked right back down at him.

There had been screaming and loud sounds he would later realize had been explosions, but that's all he remembered of what happened outside.

Mostly, what he remembered was sitting on the floor of their old apartment (all of the furniture had been moved to block off a door or a window) and watching on the news how the city he lived in fell apart at the hands of the creatures that came from the sky. He remembered sitting between his Aunt and Uncle and, on reflection, realizing that even though they'd seemed calm and had reassured him, that they had been just as fear wracked as he'd been. They'd known they needed to put on a strong front; they'd known he needed their protection.

It was not six years ago.

And, just in the way they'd known they needed to protect him, he knew what he needed to do.

Even before he'd seen the giant mechanical doughnut in the sky, his body had reacted to the danger it brought. The pricks on his neck (that were always there when he rode in the bus with _that_ driver) suddenly became like knives stabbing into his back and every single hair on his body stood on end at whatever was currently threatening his safety. When he turned to see what was causing the reaction, his mind had flashed back to six years ago, but he pushed that and the fear that came with it away and did what he always did; got right into the middle of it.

The only thing was, well, now he was confused.

Aliens were not shocking; anyone who lived in New York wasn't surprised by the reappearance of them. They all sort of been expecting that, no, what was confusing him was something he would have never predicted in a million years.

Noriko and Mr. Stark were working together.

Sure, Mr. Stark being here made sense; aliens were the reason the Avengers were formed in the first place and even if they weren't, he was probably going to be concerned with the giant ship in the sky.

Noriko being here was a little bit stranger, but not out of the realm of possibility. Her usual work involved gangsters and muggings, but she'd sworn to protect New York from any threat, so if aliens were causing a problem then she probably would get wrapped up in it too.

The part that wasn't connecting quite right in Peter's brain was the fact that they seemed to be here together.

He knew the white reticles of his suit were making it obvious how his eyes widened, but he couldn't bring himself to care as his head snapped to look at Mr. Stark, who clearly was about to take a pummeling before he'd shown up, and then back to Noriko. But, neither of them revealed the reason for what seemed to be a partnership through their faces/masks and he was unable to pinpoint why the hell he was seeing the two of them in the same fight.

Unfortunately, this moment of confusion gave the alien an opening and he sent Peter flying backwards; the young vigilante yelping before he caught himself on one of the tree branches.

The shock Noriko had gone into when she'd seen him seemed to wear off as she picked up the slack and attacked the alien. Peter watched as his girlfriend attempted to wrap the cord of the billy club around the legs of the extraterrestrial, but wasn't able to due to its size. Whatever this thing was, he knew for a fact that it was not in her regular wheelhouse and because of that she was on the defensive rather than her regular aggressive offense.

"What's going on?" Peter asked, hopping back into the fight as he tried to get a grasp on the current situation "Who're these guys?"

"Well, they said they're children of Thanos, which is bad news for us," Noriko replied, a soft grunt as she jumped over the alien's arm; Peter's brow furrowing as he tried to remember if she'd ever mentioned anything about them before "And they're after this thing that this guy I know has, there's a lot, I'll explain later. How was your fieldtrip?"

"Hey, hey, enough with the domestic bliss, you two," Mr. Stark interrupted, any of the soft feelings in Peter's chest disappearing at his scathing words, but amusement replacing it when he saw how Noriko's eye roll could probably be visible from space "There's a fight going on here."

"Yeah, think we haven't noticed?" She replied through gritted teeth, Peter filing away the fact that even if there was something going on with these two, it was not anything close to liking each other "Hey, web!"

Peter responded automatically and shot a web that attached to the center of her billy club. Just like any other time they'd done this, they both pulled their end in the same direction and sent their adversary stumbling to the ground (although it was clearly not for long). But, instead of taking this opportunity to incapacitate this thing once and for all, Peter watched as Noriko's eyes were drawn to the figures in the distance; the one's heading towards the ship in the sky.

"Peter," She said, pointing to the outlines "They've got him; he's the one in the cape. They're going to take him onboard, so try to find a way in that thing. I'll catch up."

"Alright, see you soon!" he replied as he already began to swing off; he could tell by Noriko's tone that whatever was going on was urgent and he'd learned in the past two years that when she told him to do something in that voice, to just do it. What he didn't hear, though, was how Noriko unable to stop herself from laughing softly at what he'd said as he left.

.

Danny huffed and pulled off his mask so he could run a hand through his curls. It wasn't like there was anyone around to see his true identity and, even if they did, who was going to believe them that the majority shareholder of a major company was running around in a mask and punching an alien with a glowing hand?

Things had gone awry quickly and now Strange was being taken aboard the ship above and he had no idea where everybody else was. Probably taking on the other alien, but now there were more pressing matters that needed their attention.

As if on cue, the sound of boots accompanied by shortened breath and a familiar voice caught his attention.

"We need to get up there," Noriko said, Danny nodding in agreement as he did a quick once-over to make sure his partner in stopping-crime was okay.

"They've got Strange. They're going to get the Stone soon unless we stop them," Danny said, taking the first steps towards the ship even though they would need to get quite high to be able to reach it.

"Yeah, and I sent Peter ahead and I'm worried he'll do something stupid."

Danny paused and sent her a look, which only got him a non-verbal shrug as a response, before he rolled his eyes and the pair pressed on; both walking a little slower than they really should, out of worry that they wouldn't have a plan once they got under the thing.

"Rooftops," Noriko suddenly said, Danny following her line of sight and immediately understanding what she was suggesting.

"Do you think that'll be high enough?" He asked, already heading towards the nearest fire escape.

"I guess we'll find out!"

.

Peter yelped slightly as he found himself having trouble getting any purchase on the slippery casing of the ship, but he managed to find his footing and use his abilities to securely stick himself to the metal. As his eyes searched for any sign of entry on this thing, a part of him wondered how exactly Noriko was planning to get up here; she was capable, but she couldn't jump any better than a person at peak condition. But, he reminded himself that every time he'd asked him how she was going to do something in the past, she'd figured something out.

The only problem was that now it was moving.

Peter kept his grip as it slowly started to return from where it had come from; his mind racing a-mile-a-minute as all of the unfortunate repercussions of this was, including the fact that now it seemed impossible for Noriko to reach him.

"Karen!" He all but yelled "Call Luna."

The familiar picture of Noriko smiling (the one he'd taken when she hadn't been paying attention) popped up before going to the corner of the screen as the dial tone began to play.

 _"This is the phone of Noriko Temple. If you're calling for the Heroes for Hire, leave a message and I'll call you back. If you're calling for any other reason, you can leave a message but the likelihood of me calling back is slim to none."_

"H-Hey, Noriko?" Peter managed to stutter out even though he was starting to feel short of breath "So, did what you said, followed the alien and cape guy and I'm trying to find a way inside, but, uh, the ship's moving and I don't know what to do. So, call me back? Please?"

The sound of the recording ending hardly registered to Peter, as he found that all he could focus on was _just_ how hard it was to breathe now. He reached up to tug off his mask in the hopes that would make it easier for oxygen to get into his lungs, but that did very little to help him; the teen getting lightheaded as he gasped.

"Kid, you gotta let go!"

Peter looked back to see how Mr. Stark was now nearing the ship, but he stayed attached to the ship despite what he said.

"Noriko said to get the guy with the cape!" He replied, choosing not to comment on the words he heard muttered under Mr. Stark's breath as his own was starting to become dangerously short.

"You're too high up," Mr. Stark then said, loud enough that Peter knew he was meant to hear it "You're running out of air!"

"That makes sense," Peter muttered right before everything went black.

But it was only for a second, then oxygen rushed back into his lungs and he managed to stick the landing and not going hurtling towards the Earth. For a moment, he wondered if maybe all scientists had been wrong and actually there _was_ breathable air outside our atmosphere, but he soon realized that the reason he could breathe again was not because of what was around him, but what he was now wearing.

He'd forgotten about the existence of this—a part of him kind of thought Mr. Stark had thrown it in the trash after he'd refused the Avengers (and maybe kind of insulted them a little bit in the process)—but, it seemed that he'd held onto this suit just in case.

Maybe things had changed. Maybe in the two plus years since the fiasco with Toomes and the Staten Island Ferry, Mr. Stark had chilled out on the whole "Don't do anything other than saving cats from trees" thing. In the time since then, he'd accomplished all sorts of things as Spider-Man (although, the most momentous had been as Peter Parker and no one except for the Harlem police and those who had been there knew he'd been involved with that), maybe Mr. Stark noticed that and had accepted that he was his own hero to be reckoned with.

"Happy trails, Kid."

"Oh, come on!"

As Peter flew backwards, pulled by the parachute that Stark had deployed in his suit, on instinct he shot a web out. To his legitimate surprise, though, it actually attached to one of the pieces of metal and once it was met with that amount of resistance, the parachute released from his suit and left him dangling at the end of the ship. Even with his superior strength, it was a fight to climb up the web, but he managed it and stood on one of the jutting portions on the outside of the ship, only for it to close in around him.

Thankfully, the wall behind him slid open to reveal the inside he had been trying to find so desperately not minutes ago. Now, though, he found himself wondering if maybe just staying on Earth would've been a better option; what surrounded him was a little bit too much, especially since he was alone.

But, he wasn't alone for long.

The soft pinpricks on the back of his neck alerted him to the fact someone was behind him and he swung around, ready to fight whatever alien or person who thought he should be on Earth there was on this ship.

Neither one of those fit the two people he found, though.

"When did you change?" Noriko asked as Danny waved.

.

.

.

A/N

Chinese Translation Courtesy of Google Translate.

Danny: Is he the person we hate?

Noriko: No, he is


	4. Two Years On (Where Are They Now?)

It was unclear if the reason the Quinjet was so quiet was because of some type of breathless anticipation, or if it was just that there was nothing to say. Everything that needed to be communicated was done easily through significant looks and quick movements, not words, and even then there wasn't much that needed to be shared. The only sound that interrupted the silence was the soft hum of the stealth jet as it glided through the air and headed towards the destination that none of them had ever thought they'd return to.

A soft rhythm started to interrupt that strange silence, but before it could go on for more than a few seconds, a hand gently rested on a knee; Pietro sent Maria an apologetic look which she replied with a soft one of her own. He didn't need to apologize, she knew it was instinctive.

Once he stopped tapping his foot, Maria removed her hand from his leg and returned it to its original spot wrapped around the soft hands that couldn't help but shake ever so slightly. They spent their lives doing this, but nothing ever felt quite right after something unexpected like that.

Wanda rested her head on Maria's shoulder and took a deep breath as she tried to get a handle on everything that had happened. A part of her had been prepared for a fight—she was meeting with someone that had stood against her two years ago—but she had assumed that if it was anything, it would've been military or even… Basically, she hadn't expected what had happened to happen.

But, it had, and it had been handled. She was here with Maria and Pietro and everyone was okay. They could get through this; they _would._

Wanda craned her head slightly to look up at the woman she rested against. Maria, on her part, looked like she usually did; the worry she knew they all shared was hidden underneath an even mask. She didn't look like a person who would have many worries though; her soft face paired with short hair that was a mess (she never quite figured out how to style it) made her appear more like a stressed out college student than a superhero turned fugitive of nearly every government on the planet. A small part of Wanda's mind pointed out that by all accounts, she _should_ be in college right now and not an outlaw, but before that could bring her down to far, she remembered that Maria had made every choice that led them here herself; she'd chosen to stand for what was right instead of just doing what was easy.

The woman she rested against seemed to finally become aware that she was being watched and she looked down to lock her brown eyes with Wanda's green. Instead of commenting on the fact she was staring, Maria just smiled something small and rueful before she reached out and gently patted her on the side of the head; Wanda unable to stop herself from closing her eyes and relaxing under the affection despite the current circumstances.

But, she sensed the moment Maria's attention was off of her and she opened her eyes to see that significant look that Steve Rogers was sending her soulmate. She only caught the tail end of the silent conversation, but she felt the effects almost immediately as Maria raised her hands to her lips and pressed a kiss to her left palm before she slipped out of the seat with an apologetic glance. On instinct, Pietro filled the space that Maria had just occupied and the twins watched as their soulmate made her way to the far end of the jet.

In the darkest corner, Vision sat alone with his face buried in his hands. He made the choice to sit tucked away, both because his head continued to pound after the attack he'd just survived and because no matter how he liked to pretend, things were not quite comfortable with the people he shared this flight with. One way or another, though, the pain that seared in the center of his head continued and all but completely distracted him from the current situation. He forced himself to just focus on breathing, even though that was something he didn't need to do.

"Hey."

The first word spoken in over an hour was soft, but held greater meaning than just the definition. Vision looked up to see how Maria had taken a seat (leaving a space between the two of them) and was looking at him with unfathomable eyes. That wasn't surprising, what was was that after everything that had happened to her and the Maximoffs because of the fight two years ago, she'd found it in herself to even speak to him.

"You don't look so good," she said, something akin to amusement in her voice, but not strong enough to completely be categorized as that.

"I assure you, Miss Stark, I feel as I look," Vision replied, noticing despite his self-engrossment that Maria nearly winced at his words "I… I apologize. You prefer Mrs. Maximoff now, I assume."

"Yes, thank you," Maria replied, her voice soft. It was quiet again for a moment, but it was plainly obvious that it wasn't one that would last. This time, though, it wasn't broken by the young woman who'd done it the first time, but the android who sat beside her.

"If I may…" he started, stalling as he searched for the words he knew needed to be said "Thank you, Maria. I know what you're doing is not for me, but I know what it is taking for you to do this. I know… I know what you must be going through is not easy."

"My father went missing two hours ago, Vision."

Vision looked over suddenly at that new information and found that Maria was smiling in a funny way, as if she was somewhat entertained by this whole situation rather than anything else that might've been more fitting.

"There was an attack on New York, a big ship in the sky, and last anyone's seen was him flying right towards it," she continued before snorting softly "I'm pretty sure that at some point in my life I'll have to confront him, but apparently today is not that day."

Vision looked away and back down to the metal grates under his feet, but this time the silence did not descend on them as he answered promptly.

"Then what day is today?"

"Well, it seems to be shaping up to be the end of the world, so…" Maria trailed off before turning to Vision and smiling fully at him for the first time in over two years "Another day at the office."

.

Something stung as Maria took her first steps out of the Quinjet and onto the familiar landing pad, but she couldn't quite place what it was.

Maybe it was just seeing this building again. When she'd first moved into this compound she'd been _so_ sure that it was going to be her home for the rest of her life. She'd been convinced she'd spend her time split between saving the world and canoodling with the Maximoffs and, well, she hadn't been _wrong,_ it was just… it all worked out a little differently than she'd expected. And seeing this place again— the one she had called home before it had been unceremoniously ripped from her— didn't feel quite right.

But, none of that mattered now.

Maria took a deep breath as they entered the compound and she winced slightly as the material around her waist bit into her skin; she was, admittedly, bigger than she had been when she'd originally been measured for this suit, but it usually wasn't too much of problem. Besides, even if it was, she really wasn't in the position to get her hands on a new one.

"Are you alright?" Pietro murmured, Maria sending him a small smile before nodding in reassurance; no matter how small and insignificant her pain was, her soulmates noticed.

"Captain Rogers."

Just those two words were enough to turn Maria into stone; her jaw clenched tight to barely contain the sneer that so badly wanted to paint her features as she came face-to-hologram-face with the man that had caused her and her soulmates so much pain.

"You think you can come back and all is forgiven?" Ross was saying, not that Maria cared much what came out of his mouth.

"I'm not looking for forgiveness," Steve replied promptly, his harsh voice cluing Maria in to the fact he felt as she did "And I am way past asking for permission. We're here to fight and if you want to stand in our way, we'll fight you too."

Despite the severity of the situation, a sharp smirk took over the lower half of Maria's expression (her eyes, of course, never lost their coldness). But before she could say anything inflammatory of her own towards the Secretary of State, he suddenly disappeared; the technology allowing him to appear in the compound having been turned off by the man Maria was now forced to acknowledge.

The man who had stood opposite of them two years ago welcomed the rogue Avengers with a warm smile and open arms. While the others walked forward to greet him with ease (somewhat), Maria couldn't bring herself to; the young woman hanging back until the crowd had cleared somewhat. It was only once the others parted did they lock eyes and a layer of apprehension entered the air.

"Hi, Rhodey."

Maria's voice was soft—the type that came from inward fear rather than her earlier outward comfort—but even though she was the one to speak first, she made no visible move to close the gap between her and the man who had been there for her during her first eighteen years of life. The man she had considered a second father.

"Maria," Rhodey responded, even less elegantly than her. But instead of just standing there and looking at the person opposite through his eyelashes (as Maria did), he crossed the distance between them; his movements a little stiff due to the prosthetics on his legs, but fast nonetheless. Maria felt the twins tense up beside her, but she didn't share their worry. Instead, she found herself opening up for what she knew was coming.

The warmth of the first hug shared Rhodey in over two years filled Maria's chest with warmth.

.

"Where's Clint?"

Maria couldn't help the small quirk of a smile that entered her expression, despite the current dire circumstances. So much had changed in the past two years, she couldn't imagine what it must be like to be dropped right into it the way Bruce was.

"After the whole Accords situation, he and Scott took a deal. It's too tough on their families," Natasha answered, Maria dropping her head to look at her hands on the last word, something that did not go unnoticed.

"Who's Scott?" Bruce asked.

"Ant-Man," Steve said simply instead of offering a legitimate explanation, Maria smiling slightly as she remembered the man she'd met only once, but had taken a liking to quite a bit.

"There's an Ant-Man and a Spider-Man?" Bruce said before sighing "Okay, look... Thanos has the biggest army in the Universe. And he is not gonna stop until he... He gets..."

"Vision," Maria said, exchanging quick looks with the two that stood beside her instead of looking the man she spoke of in the eye "We have to keep Thanos and his people away from Vision, away from the stone in his head."

"No, we have to destroy it."

Everyone standing in the conference room snapped to look at the android that had, up until this point, been quiet. But, despite his prior silence and the pain they all knew he was experiencing, Vision's expression was strong and determined.

"I've been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head. About its nature," Vision continued, no one else making any move to speak after his first words spoken "But also, its composition. I think if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source, something very similar to its own signature, perhaps... Its molecular integrity could fail."

As the intentions of Vision's words became clear, two of the Maximoff's closed ranks; Maria and Pietro each taking one step to stand between Wanda and the piercing eyes of the man asking something truly horrifying of her.

"So would you," Pietro said, not exactly _protesting_ that fact, but certainly not enthusiastic either.

"Vision, you can't be serious," Maria added, her voice firmer than her soulmates: her stance clearly defined.

"Eliminating the stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can't get it," he replied, leveling his unsettling stare on her now. She didn't mind the discomfort, though, so long as he wasn't doing it to Wanda.

"You can't… You can't ask us to do this," Maria said, her words labored as she considered what Vision was saying "You can't ask _Wanda_ to do this."

"Maria."

That one word was all it took and the wall the pair had built crumbled away; Wanda taking a step to stand between them rather than behind. With a quick look of reassurance to her brother and a gentle touch on her soulmate's shoulder, Wanda moved in front of them. But, she wasn't protecting them the way they had for her, instead she was meeting the conflict head on and looking Vision in the eye as she spoke.

"Viz…" she said before sighing and shaking her head "If it's the only way… but…"

"Thanos threatens half the Universe," Vision said, hoping his words could lay to rest the indecision anyone could sense in Wanda's heart "One life cannot stand in the way of defeating him."

"But it should."

For the first time in quite a bit, another speaker entered the conversation; possibly the most important.

"We don't trade lives, Vision," Steve said, his face betraying his weariness, but also showing his strength.

"Captain, 70 years ago, you laid down your life to save millions of people. Tell me, why is this any different?"

"Because you might have a choice," Bruce suddenly interjected, drawing all eyes to him "Your mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays. Jarvis, Ultron, Tony, me, the stone. All of them mixed together. All of them learning from one another."

"Vision is more than the stone," Maria said simply, nodding slightly as she considered this "But, what will happen if we take it out?"

"I'm not sure," Bruce admitted, looking at everyone in the room openly "But, I think there'd still be a whole lot of Vision left."

"Can we do that?" Natasha asked, getting a much less optimistic response than the ones in the past.

"Not me. Not here."

"Well you better find someone and somewhere fast. Ross isn't just gonna let you guys have your old rooms back," Rhodey interjected, drawing attention to the fact that Thanos and his intergalactic army weren't the only things they needed to have their eyes on. But, those worries were soon laid to rest after Maria and Steve exchanged a look that ended with the former giving a small shrug and the latter speaking for both of them.

"I know somewhere."

.

The heat of Wakanda was a welcome change from the past few months spent in rainy European cities. From the moment Maria stepped off the Quinjet, her body relaxed despite the current situation and her chin couldn't help but lift to bathe her face in the sunbeams. A part of her wondered why she didn't just stay here, on the outskirts, instead of running around in all sorts of cold climates. But no sooner did she ask herself that did she remember how she couldn't stop herself. How she always needed to be out there doing what she could, no matter what should tie her down.

Those thoughts were sobering enough to break her out of her trance and focus, which was good as they approached the man that made this all possible.

"Seems like I'm always thanking you for something," Steve said, friendly but honest as he greeted the king of Wakanda.

"How big of an assault should we expect?" T'Challa asked, his warmth and his noble dignity somehow never canceling one another out.

"Sir, I think you should expect quite a big assault," Bruce said, anxious as the group began to make their way across the courtyard of T'Challa's palace.

"How are we looking?" Steve asked, not nearly as shaky sounding.

"You will have my Kingsguard. The Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje. And—."

"A semi-stable 100-year old man."

Maria smiled more for Steve than she did for herself as the familiar face appeared; Bucky Barnes looking better than ever with his long hair looking especially shiny and his left arm appearing to be far superior than the one she'd seen him with the last time, the one that had been blown to Hell.

That reminded her—.

"Who let the white people in?"

Maria all but bowled over Wanda (who was saved by her brother's quick movements) and she tackled her in a bear hug despite the teasing words she'd used in lieu of a greeting. Even though Maria could lift a semi if she really wanted to, her body weight was about average for a girl her height, which was fortunate for the girl who had to catch her; her only outward response being a soft "oof" followed by giggles.

"Alright, alright," Jade said, playful shoving her best friend off of her "I'm happy to see you too."

"You look pretty white to me," Maria said once the customary greeting was over with, the young woman grinning as she reached out and tugged on one of Jade's braids the same way she used to when she needed to get her attention in high school. Jade, on her part, laughed at those words before running her fingers through her own braids which, while similar to what she had in high school, were a pure white rather than her natural black.

While Maria's words were accurate when it came to her hair, it couldn't have been less true about the rest of Jade. Her appearance was caught somewhere between the place she lived in currently and the place she came from and her clothing allowed her to walk down the streets of both without standing out. But, the thing was, even if her clothes didn't draw eyes, the rest of her would. Clearly Wakanda had been good for Jade as she held herself with confidence that had not been present back in the United States.

"I wanna know what's going on there," Maria said, electing to comment on the dark purple rings that circled her arms and wrists (and maybe more) rather than everything else. Jade laughed and dropped her eyes to the ground before meeting her best friend's again, although, anyone who cared to look could see that there was something deeper there than just amusement.

"That's a long story."

.

"So, you do it?"

Jade's eyes, which had been focused on the images in front of her, lifted to find her friend looking at the screen as if she hadn't spoken.

"What?" She asked, her brow furrowed as she truly couldn't quite grasp the words that had left her mouth; a part of her wondering if she'd been so engrossed with her work she had missed something.

"Did you do it?" Maria repeated, finally making eye contact and revealing the legitimate curiosity in them "For all of us?"

Jade opened her mouth as she searched for words, but nothing came as she tried to decipher what Maria was saying. But, before she could ask what the fuck she was talking about, Maria's eyes flickered out the window just long enough to be significant before they returned to Jade's; the question in them blatantly obvious, but still vague on what exactly the question was. It wasn't until she looked outside did it suddenly become clear.

 _"Maria Suzanne,"_ Jade hissed, the usage of the middle name doing nothing but making a small smirk appear on Maria's expression. Whatever else Jade had planned on saying to rebuke her disappeared at that smile and she instead huffed and turned back to her work; unable to block out how Maria leaned slightly.

"Shuri?"

The young princess looked up from her own part of the workload she was sharing with Jade with an expression that betrayed she wasn't all too pleased to be interrupted. But, that disappeared as Maria threw significant looks between Jade—who was ardently not looking at them—and to the ground outside and a wide grin appeared on her lips before she began to nod enthusiastically.

"Sometimes she spends _weekends—."_

 _"If_ you two are done, I'd like to focus on this important, time sensitive issue," Jade interrupted with a taut voice, the two women exchanging a look and suppressing their giggles before returning their attention to the subject at hand "This structure is polymorphic."

"Right," Bruce confirmed, seemingly unaware to what had gone down in the past two minutes "We had to attach each neuron non-sequentially."

"Why didn't you just reprogram the synapses to work collectively?" Shuri asked, genuine confusion on her face as she asked.

"Because... we didn't think of it?" Bruce offered hesitantly, Shuri's confusion changing to something that could only be categorized as sassy pity.

"I'm sure you did your best."

"Shuri," Jade murmured, a small smile on her expression despite her slight chastising tone. It was clear that this was something she was used to; the princess's cockiness not taking her by surprise, and bringing out an almost indulgent side of her "Listen, there're over two trillion neurons and one misalignment would cause—well, it would be very not good."

"How long?" T'Challa asked without a shade of doubt, Jade and Shuri exchanging a look.

"As long as you can give us."

"Something's entered the atmosphere."

Maria looked out the window again and saw how Sam and Bucky had their eyes turned upwards towards the sky and she followed suit to watch with concerned eyes as the inevitable attack on Wakanda began. But, she didn't need to be too worried just yet; they didn't get far. The protective bubble around the country stopped them before they could even set a few trees on fire and the ship exploded as it came into contact with the energy field. But, any pleasure that could be taken from that was short-lived.

"We got more incoming outside the dome."

"It's too late," Vision said, pushing himself up from where Shuri and Jade had been working "We need to destroy the Stone now."

"Vision, get your ass back on the table," Natasha ordered as everyone began to kick into gear; what was necessary becoming clear as the Maximoffs exchanged apprehensive looks. No matter how they sliced it, they would be separated. Unless two of them made the decision to shirk their responsibilities. A choice that neither of them could ever make.

"Wanda, as soon as it's out…" Maria said, her soulmate sighing and nodding as the pain and worry became evident on her face.

"I know," she murmured, stepping forward to place her hand on Maria's cheek and paused as she tried to find the words "… Just… come back to me."

Maria laid her hand over top of Wanda's and allowed the silence to speak for her for a moment. But, before too long, she gently tugged on the hand she was holding and moved it over her lips; the young woman pressing a kiss to her lover's palm.

"I always do," she murmured and with one last tender look, the two broke away; Maria and Pietro heading out the door after Steve and not looking back, as they both knew if they did they'd see how Wanda watched them and neither would be able to leave.

.

"How likely is it that we get out of this unscathed, do you think?"

Maria tilted her head thoughtfully as her soulmate grabbed her hand and helped her up onto the transporter; she didn't need the assistance, but it was always something that Pietro and Wanda did. Its origins likely in the time when touching Maria was not accessible the way it was now and courtesy was a good excuse.

"Unscathed?" Maria said, a small smile pulling at her lips that Pietro matched "Impossible."

"Alright, how about not killed?" Pietro tried again, standing beside her on the carrier and purposefully knocking his hip against hers (although, given the height difference, it was more hip-to-abdomen than anything else).

"Well, Clint's not here, so no chance of you playing martyr for him, so—." Maria giggled softly as Pietro scoffed playfully and gently pinched her side. Before he could reply with a snappy comment of his own, though, the transporter moved forward. And despite its smooth movement (nothing in Wakanda could be rough unless it was malfunctioning), Pietro placed a steadying hand on the small of Maria's back.

The pair was quiet as the wind blew past them and, although both laughed at the sight of Bruce wiping out in VERONICA, there was an unsettling stillness between the pair. Something not most people would notice, but was there nevertheless. Both were far too tense to keep up the appearance of not being anything other than worried.

Only once they were at the frontline did either of them truly betray their unease, and it was by Pietro; the one who was most likely to play confident cracking under the current pressure just slightly and reaching out to grip Maria's hand. And, although she squeezed back just as tightly (with a fraction of her strength), that small comfort was soon taken from them.

"I've got two heat signatures breaking through the tree line."

Steve looked back and the moment their eyes made contact, Maria knew what he was asking of her. She also knew that he'd accept her refusal without protest, but nevertheless she gave Pietro's hand one last little squeeze and pulled away to follow after the Captain, although she fell to the right of the King as Steve stood between him and the Widow.

Maria gave a respectful nod to T'Challa, who returned it with one of his own, and neither one said anything as they headed towards the edge of the energy field. No words were exchanged by any of them, in fact; they all knew that if it came to a fight right then and there, they would be able to handle it.

They were still a bit of ways out when they laid eyes on those who waited for them; Maria's jaw tightening as she recognized the two that stood just outside the shield. The exact same ones that had attacked Wanda and Vision not even twenty-four hours ago.

"Where's your other friend?" Natasha asked once they stood opposite, her faux innocent tone betraying that she too recognized the ones they faced.

"You will pay for his life with yours," The most feminine (Maria assumed that aliens' concept of gender were different from Earth's) said, her voice betraying her anger at them for what they had done to her fellow warrior "Thanos will have that stone."

"That's not gonna happen," Steve said simply, Maria's lip twitching up at the blunt words from the man she followed.

"You are in Wakanda now," T'Challa said, those words a threat in themselves "Thanos will have nothing but dust and blood."

"We have blood to spare."

"So, I suppose they haven't given up and we can go back home, huh?"

Maria gave Pietro a rueful smile as she returned to her spot beside him and she playfully clapped him on the shoulder.

"'Fraid not."

The pair watched as the siege began, neither one flinching as the mindless creatures that made up the army attempted to get through the shield. Even as they tore themselves apart just to try to get into Wakanda, Maria stood strong with a serious expression on her face (even if the inside didn't match). Concern only started to appear on her features as her eyes caught on how they started to circle the perimeter.

"Steve, if they get through behind us…" She said, not even bothering to finish her sentence; she knew he understood immediately.

"Then we better keep 'em in front of us," He replied.

"How?" Pietro asked, but instead of getting an answer from the man he asked, he got one from the man in charge.

"We open the barrier," T'Challa said and, as soon as he announced his decision, he spoke into his bracelet "On my signal, open North-West Section Seventeen."

"Requesting confirmation, My King. You said _open_ the barrier?" The unknown Wakandan's trepidation resonating with everyone who heard it.

"On my signal."

Maria took a deep breath as she prepared herself for the inevitable and, without thinking, she reached out and knocked the back of her hand against Pietro's. It was small, but it was enough to ease some of the tension in his form; no matter what happened here, they'd always had this. Even if so much of the past two years had been spent looking over their shoulders, they'd been theirs and if they died today, well, then at least they'd had that time together. At least their lives would mean something to both each other and to the rest of the world.

"Wakanda Forever!"


	5. Tensions (and Spaceships) Ride High

"God, I'm starving."

Neither one of the teens replied to the mumbled complaint of the grown man in their midst. Their minds had far more important things to focus on—like the unfamiliar craft and the worsening circumstances—than the whining of a grown man. Instead, they slowly continued down the hall with their guards raised; all expecting that at any moment, someone would come swinging around the corner and attack them.

"Can you tell me what's going on now?" Peter whispered, trying to get a feel for if their adversaries were anywhere near by, but the low-level tingle ever present on his neck not helping very much.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Noriko murmured right back as she peeked down one of the many dark metal corridors and confirmed that there was no one visible to the human eye there "So, there's these things called Infinity Stones. They're like, uh—." For a moment she wracked her brain for applicable metaphor that would help Peter understand as they continued to creep around "Brief case. The brief case from Pulp Fiction."

"Everybody wants it?" Peter offered, Noriko nodding in agreement to the understatement of the millennia.

"Yeah. Except there are six of them and even on their own they can cause some serious damage. And there's this guy, Thanos, he's got two of 'em and he wants to, uh, kill half the universe."

For a long moment it was quiet.

"Well, that's not good," Peter replied, Noriko nodding again "And-and these guys, you said they're the children of Thanos."

"Uh-huh, the guy I told you to follow? He's got one of the Infinity Stones they're after."

"Shit," Peter said thoughtfully "We'd better find him then."

"Yeah," Noriko said, although it was softer this time as she looked over at her boyfriend. None of the tension from earlier had carried over and despite the current situation, her lips quirked upwards slightly as she reached out to take his hand in hers. The mask Peter wore dissolved into his suit and he looked over at her with a smile of his own as he squeezed her hand; a silent confirmation that he knew exactly what was running through her head right now.

Danny cleared his throat.

"So, do any of us know where we're going?"

With the moment between the two of them broken easily (although their hands remained in one another's), Peter gave a casual answer to Danny's question.

"I mean, I think I heard some, uh, screaming from that way," he said pointing down a pathway that he began to pull Noriko down as Danny continued to follow behind the two teenagers. It wasn't long until it opened up into a large room that they stood on the high outskirts of. The good thing was that meant that they couldn't be seen, but at the moment the bad far outweighed that.

"You weren't wrong about the screaming," Noriko murmured, her tone containing a sardonic twist but her hand squeezing back just as tightly as Peter's; the young man obviously not stomaching the torture occurring in front of him quite as easily as the two people that stood beside him. The alien that Noriko had faced first back on Earth currently had Strange in some otherworldly glass construction and was slowly piercing his skin, likely to force him to hand over the stone.

"We need a plan," Danny said, his serious persona taking over as the situation became more and more grave.

"I don't know how I feel about hand-to-hand on this guy's turf," Noriko said, following Danny's emotional lead "Especially since we're in the middle of space."

"Surprise is on our side," Danny pointed out "I doubt he realizes he got some hop-ons."

"I mean, I think the three of us can handle him, but if we can get Strange out of that thing it should be a clean fight," Noriko said, nodding slightly as a plan began to mold more and more into something usable in her brain "What do you think, Peter? … Peter?"

Noriko looked over to see that her boyfriend's focus was completely off of the current conversation. In fact, it was very possible that he hadn't heard a single word either of them had said. At least, not until Noriko said his name. Because now he looked up from what had caught his eye and silently communicated to his girlfriend dread (which, in turn, filled _her_ with dread) before he looked back down at the next level underneath them; Noriko and Danny following his line of sight.

 _"Shit fucking goddamn it."_

The whispered explosion of expletives went uncommented on by the two men beside her and Noriko reached up to tear off her mask and rub a hand over her face; the tension in her form dissipating only slightly when Peter placed his now free hand on the small of her back.

"Should we tell him we're…?" He started, his words hesitant as he thought to that late night rant he'd listened to two years ago after _that_ guy had paid a visit to Noriko's diner. But, he also thought about how not two _hours_ earlier, he'd seen the two of them seemingly working side by side. Clearly he had missed something, although going off of Noriko's quick explanation earlier, it was likely enemy of my enemy is my temporary ally rather than anything else. He really had no good way to judge what would come next.

"He'll do something stupid if we don't," Danny pointed out.

"He'll do something stupid if we _do,"_ Noriko replied before sighing harshly and allowing a moment of silence to pass "… I'm knocking him unconscious if he pulls anything."

Peter chose not to comment on Noriko's promise and instead slid his hand to wrap his arm around her waist; a soft thwip sound the only warning the Hell's Kitchen protector got before Peter gently swung them forward and began to lower them down to where one of the only other humans stood alone. Neither one hearing how Danny huffed in exasperation and headed back to the staircase they'd passed.

.

"Hey there, moron."

The slight amount of pleasure Noriko took from the way her words made him jump didn't do much to outweigh the sourness of her mood right now; the hand on her abdomen squeezing slightly to remind her that maybe it wasn't a great time to be antagonizing.

"What the—." Tony started, looking between the pair of teenagers as the shock slipped away into exasperation.

"I know what you're gonna say," Peter started, putting his hands up as if to fend off the assault he already knew was coming.

"You should not be here," Tony said simply.

"Who put you in charge?" Noriko demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"Who told her _boyfriend_ to hold onto the side of an ascending spaceship?" Tony replied, the amount of incredulity on that fourth word enough to raise Noriko's hackles, which was not missed by either of the men standing there. But rather than let her fly off the handle and possibly make things worse, Peter jumped in to diffuse.

"I mean, Noriko told me to follow the wizard guy. Grabbing onto the side that—." Peter cleared his throat as he reached up to rub the back of his neck "That was all me."

"Yeah, not your finest moment, Babe," Noriko said, her markedly softer words causing Tony to roll his eyes and scoffing at the words of endearment that may or may not have been strategically placed.

"Any-Anyway," Peter started, feeling warmth at his ears but soldiering on "It's not like any of us can go back now. And-And we all have the same goal, so we might as well work together."

"And what is that goal exactly?" Tony asked, something strange in his tone as he kept his eyes exclusively on Peter, who didn't fully understand why he was talking like that or why he saw Noriko sneer out of the corner of his eye.

"Save the wizard guy," Peter said, the strange tension making his voice smaller than normal "And keep these guys from getting that stone thing he's got and killing a lot of people."

Peter's brow furrowed as that odd expression slipped off of Tony's face into something that he didn't recognize, but as he looked over at his girlfriend for an explanation, he recognized her smug grin on sight.

"You were saying?" Noriko asked, her voice matching her smile. Before Tony could reply with some snappy comment that would undoubtedly start them both off again, a set off rapidly approaching footsteps made them all tense up.

"Oh, sorry Danny."

The man in question sent Peter a look before it all seemed to clear up between them. But, that small interaction made Tony's eyes go up to the heavens they were already in.

"So, you know more than one billionaire, huh?" He asked with biting acerbity that made Noriko rise up slightly; the young woman not taking too well to him speaking that way to her boyfriend. But before she could snap or Peter could stumble, the billionaire himself spoke.

"Peter and I are dojo buddies." The teenager's eyes lighting up at a nickname that had clearly been used before and he reached over and gave Danny a high five that was reciprocated with just as much enthusiasm.

"We really should stop fooling around and save him," Noriko interjected, clearly not that upset about the way Danny and Peter interacted and just kind of used to it at this point.

"By all means, let me hear the plan the great defenders of Hell's Kitchen have come up with," Tony said with harsh sarcasm that seemed to be ignored by the pair who actually seemed to take his advice and resumed their earlier conversation.

"Mostly unknown entity, very foreign territory, hostage in a chokehold," Noriko listed with a concerned expression "Not loving this."

"Yeah, but the element of surprise," Danny brought up again "If we can take him out in one go, we minimize the risk of him just outright murdering Strange. But I think I'm too hungry to think of anything."

They both fell quiet, but before Tony could open his mouth and inject his opinion, he realized that they hadn't stopped speaking because of lack of ideas, but because they were waiting for input from the person they were both looking at.

"Did any of you ever see this really old movie, Aliens?"

.

"For a plan that revolved around us blowing a hole in the side of a spaceship, that should've gone a lot worse."

Noriko hopped down onto the grates that everyone else stood on; Strange looking no worse for wear after they got him out of that torture device and everyone else seeming okay as well, despite the earlier risk of dying out in cold, dark space.

"We gotta turn this ship around," Strange said, Noriko respecting his ability to move right on to the next issue rather than allowing himself to wallow in what just happened to him. Also, his ability to immediately want to get out of the mess instead of making it worse, something not everyone here shared.

"Yeah, now he wants to run," Tony said, clearly not sharing her point of view "Great plan."

"No," he replied, his eyes narrowing as he sensed the inevitable "I want to protect the stone."

"We all want the same thing, Strange," Danny interjected before he tipped his head slightly "Well, I also want something to eat, but—."

"What is with you and food?" Tony demanded, rounding on the triad that was made up of one nervous teenager, one young adult digging through her pockets, and a man who wore a put out expression.

"It takes a lot of energy to summon my chi," Danny said, his impatience blooming wholeheartedly as he recognized the look on Tony's face even before he said anything. Not every scientific minded person could be like Peter, so instead of listening to whatever sarcastic rant Stark would go on about chakras and mystic bullshit, Danny simply lifted his fist and allowed the glow to light up the ship around him.

"The Iron Fist is a lot more than a name," Strange said simply, sharing a quick look of camaraderie as the light dimmed and left only the shocked expression on Tony's face in its wake. Danny's eyes were what lit up next when Noriko pulled a squished up paper bag out, but instead of offering it to him as he'd expected, she made a funny face and spoke quietly as she shoved it back into her pocket.

"That's not food."

"Alright, alright, glowing hands and magic or whatever doesn't change anything; you should've ducked out when I told you to. I tried to bench you. You refused," Tony said, Noriko opening her mouth to shoot back, but being cut off before she could say a single word.

"Unlike everyone else in your life, I don't work for you."

 _"Goddamn,"_ she muttered instead, exchanging a look of amusement with Danny.

"And due to that fact, we're now in a flying doughnut... billions of miles from Earth with no backup," Tony said, Noriko and Danny exchanging another, much-less entertained look as Peter voiced their thoughts.

"We're backup."

"No, you're a stowaway." Danny already sighing at what he saw coming a mile away "The adults are talking."

"I'm sorry, whose plan saved Strange without any of us getting hurt?" Noriko snapped, now very clearly pissed "You can't alternate between using us for your own gain and then trying to shut us up when it's inconvenient. Well, you _can_ , but I'll kick your ass for it."

"Noriko," Peter murmured, gently grabbing her elbow and pulling her back a few steps (an impossible feat if she hadn't allowed him).

"I'm sorry, I'm confused," Strange said, his eyes flashing from Peter to Noriko and then down to where they met "Who's he?"

"I'm Peter," he replied, stepping forward to give Strange a polite handshake.

"Doctor Strange."

"Oh, we're using our made-up names," Peter said, an unpreventable smile taking over Noriko's expression despite the fact she was still heated from her confrontation with Stark "Um... I'm Spider-Man, then. Oh! I'm Noriko's boyfriend, that's why we—."

"Wait, wait," Strange interrupted, his eyes traversing the same path as before but much faster "You're dating _her?"_

"That's what I said when I found out," Tony interjected with an over-the-top gesture.

"Shut up, Stark; you don't even know what we're talking about," Noriko said, turning her uncomfortably flat expression from him to the man who had spoken before "Strange, back off."

"How much do you know about her?" Strange asked, shuffling Peter aside slightly and the cape around his shoulder moving almost as if he was trying put something between the teen and the girl who had been standing beside him moments ago. Peter didn't protest this and instead just furrowed his brow as he tried to grasp what was happening. He didn't get a chance to ask what Strange was saying or even to just answer his question, as a sharp voice cut through the tension.

 _"Strange."_ The subtle edge in Noriko's voice setting off the two men that knew her, but neither of them saying anything as Strange (who seemingly didn't realize he was on thin ice right now) turned to look at her with an accusatory expression.

"Does this boy know what you are?"

Faster than anyone could process, the girl who had once been standing beside Danny was in between Peter and Strange; the distance between her and the sorcerer closed by her outstretched arm, prolonged by the length of a blade. For a moment it was quiet as they all recognized what was within centimeters of Strange's throat and held their own breaths as they waited to see if it would get any closer. But instead of closing that small amount of space, Noriko spoke again; her voice low and tight before she turned on her heel and stalked off to some other part of the ship.

"I said _back off."_

.

Peter breathed a sigh of relief as he turned the corner and saw the familiar black form. He had been starting to get worried he'd get lost in this ship before he found her, but it turned out that she hadn't gotten _that_ far. That brief moment of weightlessness on his shoulders was replaced though, as he noticed how she hunched over and her entre body tensed; clearly Strange's words had gotten to her far more than usual.

"Hey."

Noriko looked up and gave him a poor imitation of a smile as a greeting, which he didn't even try to emulate. Instead, Peter crossed the distance between them and put his hand on her bicep without hesitation.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said with a small sigh that made him doubt that "Sorry for running off, I just…"

"So, he knows more about you than most people?" Peter asked, Noriko nodding without meeting his eyes before pulling away and sitting down on one of the parts of the ship the jutted out in an almost bench-like fashion "But not enough to know what you're actually like, huh?"

Noriko actually chuckled at that and that sound alone coaxed a smile out of Peter, who sat down beside her.

"The mystics of Kamar-Taj learn all sorts of things from their books," Noriko said with a rueful smile painting her expression "Unfortunately, the history of Black Skies does not reflect on me positively."

"Well, that can't be all he knows," Peter pointed out "If-If he thought you were a mindless killing machine, he wouldn't be working with you to stop these guys."

"He's working with Stark." Noriko's joke drew a soft giggle out of Peter, that in turn made her smile a little less bitterly "Well, he knows there's more to me than just what's written on paper, but I don't know how much of this is a necessary evil in his mind. Besides, this all comes after him trying to kill me, so—."

Noriko's eyebrows raised as Peter launched out his seat and turned to showcase the horrified expression he wore.

"Did I not tell you about that?"

.

"You wanna tell me what that was all about?"

Tony watched as Strange's face screwed up slightly at the sound of his voice, but after the argument that ended with the decision to go wherever this ship was headed, that reaction went both ways. It didn't bug him too much. What _did_ was what came after.

"Some things are better kept in the books of the Kamar-Taj."

"Oh, bullshit," Tony called, following after Strange as he attempted to walk away from the conversation. He wasn't going to let him off the hook so easily "This whole mysticism, Camel-Taj song and dance is over. What were you talking about? Why did you ask Peter how much he knows about her?"

Strange twisted to look back at him, but this time there was no irritation or condescension in his expression and instead a genuine interest that put Tony on edge.

"That boy, you know him?"

"Yeah, sure. Gave him a tech boost when he started in the whole superhero-ing business, haven't seen him in a while though," Tony said, scowling slightly "You've got your pal Noriko to thank for that, I'm sure."

Strange turned to face him fully and Tony realized that the morbid curiosity displayed on his face had something to do with that confrontation from before. Had something to do with Noriko.

"Do you know how long those two have been in this relationship?"

The last word was said in a tone that conveyed equal parts incredulousness and disgust that Tony couldn't help but agree with. He'd had the same reaction when he first realized that what those tow had going on was far more than just strictly business and seeing them _interact_ as a couple was gross, to say the least. But instead of dwelling on it, he answered the question in his characteristic manner.

"I'm not sure the exact start date, but around two years." Strange's face screwed up again and Tony lit up as he felt a newfound camaraderie with a usually antagonistic man "I know, right?! I didn't want to believe it when I heard about it. I mean, I get a crush on the dark and mysterious vigilante, but Parker could do better. I've seen plenty of teen girls with those bootleg Spider-Man shirts, but instead he's stuck with that fucking hellbeast. I mean, _Jesus,_ that girl is a real piece of work, she—."

"She's not a girl."

Of all the things that Tony expected Strange to speak against, that was not it. He opened and closed his mouth before he finally replied, his words slow as he tried to judge if he was reading this right. There was no way of knowing by Strange's expression though, as the man himself stayed facing away and looked at some interior of the ship with unseeing eyes.

"I guess she's eighteen now, so, yeah, whatever; woman."

"That's not what I'm saying," Strange said, finally turning but still not making eye contact "Mr. Stark… someone I once knew, a very wise woman, told me that I was looking at the world through a keyhole. That my understanding of what occurred around me was only a fraction of what actually did. Since then, I've not only widened it, I've opened the door. I see more of the universe than every generation of humans combined. I see more of the universe—of the _universes_ — than possibly every sentient being on this plane of existence. And yet, there are still parts that still remain in shadow for me. Some things that I cannot comprehend and that my books cannot explain."

Strange paused in his reverie and for the first time since he'd turned away, he made eye contact with Tony. But, it didn't hold the respect that he'd been hoping for and instead was full of something that tasted bitter in the back of Tony's throat; pity.

"If mine was a keyhole, then you are looking through a needle's eye." Tony's mouth opened on instinct, but Strange pushed on "My refusal to explain what I was talking about should not be taken personally. The universe is seen through different lenses and the one that you are at can't grasp the one that I occupy. But… It doesn't even matter in the end. Because when I try to comprehend that thing that calls itself Noriko Temple, I feel like I am right back to my keyhole."

"Don't talk about her like that."

The two men looked in the direction that voice had come from and laid eyes on the young man that had stumbled after the shadow a couple of minutes ago and had mumbled apologies and words of worry as he went. Only now, he no longer wore an expression of confusion and concern. Whatever had happened in the time he was gone had not only granted him clarity, but… something else too. Something that had turned a timid teen at the heels of his girlfriend into an unabashed young man.

Tony soon realized why something about his demeanor seemed familiar. The memory was fuzzy since most of it was painted by hindsight and was mostly preoccupied with his own feelings and words. But now that he looked back on it, that expression was reminiscent of the one he'd wore after the Staten Island Ferry incident. Only now he wasn't unsure of himself in the least. Whatever was fueling this was something that was an unshakable motivation.

He took a step forward and what was going on truly clicked in Tony's brain.

"Mr. Stark, I want to talk to Dr. Strange alone."

Peter was _angry._

.

"Whoa, whoa, okay. Whatever this is about is getting explained now," Tony said, taking preemptive step between the two as he felt the tension building "Kid, don't know what she said to you, but you look like you're going to push Strange out the hole in the side of the ship, so cool it."

"Relax, Stark," Strange spoke evenly as his eyes never left the teen "He has a right to be upset."

"Yeah, see _that,"_ Tony said, gesturing towards Strange "I've had enough of that. No more cryptic shit, just say what's going on."

Although Peter was still obviously mad, for a moment his eye contact with Strange turned into one of conversational, as if both of them were trying to figure out how they should move forward on this. Tony hated that, but found himself absolutely detesting how he could see Peter forcing the words "none of your business," back down his throat. But instead of getting that infuriating answer, he got what he was looking for: the truth.

"A year and a half ago I tried to get rid of the Black Sky."

"What?" Tony asked, his brow furrowing as he tried to decipher Strange's words. But, it seemed that he wouldn't have to work hard as the answer was presented to him.

"He tried to murder Noriko."

Tony's eyes widened and turned to Strange, who shut his own eyes and sighed in frustration before refocusing on Peter, whose anger now seemed a bit more justified.

"Jesus _Christ,_ Doc. I don't like her either, but…" Tony trailed off and gave a wary look to the man who hardly even seemed to register him speaking. Instead of replying or even defending himself to Peter, Strange seemed to brush the unasked questions off all together and took a step forward with his eyes trained intently on the teen.

"How much do you know about your girlfriend?"

"Everything," Peter responded without hesitation, Strange's eyebrow raising before he replied.

"Are you sure?" He asked, causing a tic in Peter's jaw before he replied.

"I know everything about the Black Sky."

Tony couldn't understand Peter's choice of words for the life of him, but he found that they had an effect on Strange that he understood even less. Strange tensed in the immediate aftermath of Peter's response, but that quickly disappeared and he stood there for a moment studying the young man in front of him. After a moment, he shut his eyes and shook his head quickly before speaking again; finally answering the questions that had been floating around in Tony's brain.

"The attempt I made on Noriko's life was… ill-conceived," he said simply before continuing on "I won't lie. I made a snap judgement after the events of Midland Circle. I should've never done it. But… there must have been a moment, for you, when you first heard what happened. You must've questioned her … soundness of mind."

"No," Peter said as open sincerity started to replace the anger he'd entered with, although it was clear that it never completely disappeared "Mr.—Dr. Strange, I—I was _there."_

Tony frowned as he realized why "Midland Circle," sounded familiar; he'd seen that name on the front page of CNN. He remembered fully now, that'd been the morning his commute had been prolonged by traffic and as he'd griped, Happy had pulled out his phone to show him that there had been some sort of terrorist attack. Thankfully, the building had been empty at the time and he'd made a unilateral ruling that it was below the Avengers paygrade before going on with his day without ever giving the occurrence another thought.

He didn't think anything of it when the news never talked about it again or that he never heard about any arrests in connection to the event. He'd just assumed it was a run-of-the-mill extremist and not a very good one at that. He didn't think anything of it at all. But, now… now he was questioning just how unworthy of the Avengers it had been.

On Strange's part, Peter's words obviously made an impact that Tony did not get (mostly because they weren't _allowing_ him to), but his next words came out semi-promptly after Peter's; the man clearly still trying to appeal to some logical part of Peter's psyche.

"Even then, when she made the suggestion, you must've had a second of doubt," he said, sounding almost desperate, as if he was looking for something in Peter to hold onto, some semblance of _sanity_.

"No," Peter said, his voice soft and _painfully_ genuine as he denied what he knew Strange wanted "I knew—I _know—_ that what was happening needed to be taken care of. And-and _yeah,_ it was a pretty extreme thing to do, but what we were up against… T-to suggest what we did, you'd have to be—out of options. You'd have to want to protect someone— _people_ so badly that you are willing to go for something… something you never would under normal circumstances. Because there was nothing left to do, not at that point… You—You gotta know what we were up against, Doctor; you gotta—you have to _understand._ "

For a moment, Strange wore his reaction openly and anyone who cared to look could see the confusion and _pity_ that he felt. But before too long, that slipped away and any hint of sympathy for Peter was replaced with what appeared to be his own brand of righteous pride.

"I understand perfectly. I understand that thing walked into Midland Circle and within an hour it was _rubble."_ For a moment, that sympathy returned and Strange took a step forward with a look in his eyes as if he was speaking to someone who needed his help, to a _victim_ "I don't know what she told you, what she _promised_ you, but actions speak louder than words. And history… history speaks for itself. What she is… it is not something that someone can just choose not to be. And if you're not careful, you're going to find that out the hard way."

For one brief moment, Tony thought he might have to get in between Peter and Strange.

The anger that had dissipated returned tenfold and Tony swore that Peter's clenched fists were trembling ever so slightly. But instead of lapsing into physical violence as suspected, Peter stuck with words. Only now, they were lower as he clearly tried to contain all of the emotion Strange's words had forced out of him.

"You're not the first person to say something like that to me, Dr. Strange," his words were shaky, but no one could mistake that for anything other than pure unadulterated fury "But, last time it was one of the people that tried to turn Noriko into what you're talking about. One of the people Noriko stopped when they tried to _destroy_ New York because she's the type of person who protects everyone else just because she can... And—And that guy who said that stuff is dead now because of Midland Circle... Because of the plan _I_ suggested."

Without another word, Peter turned on his heel and half-stalked half-ran out of the room and back the way he came. For a moment, the silence was deafening as Tony turned his confused gaze onto Strange, who didn't look to be fairing much better. Tony knew he was missing pieces of context, but what Peter had just _said…_ it implied something that he couldn't even allow himself to consider.

"Right back to my keyhole," Strange finally muttered before turning his eyes to meet Tony's "I'm sorry, I didn't see it either."

"See what?" Tony demanded, Strange sighing slightly before looking at the doorway Peter had just left through.

"That what substitutes for a soul inside of _it_ has infected the boy's."

.

As Peter turned the corner and came face-to-face with the two people he'd been looking for, his anger disappeared as a much more potent emotion took its place.

"H-How much of that did you hear?"

Danny and Noriko exchanged a look before the former stood up and mumbled something under his breath— anything to get way from the current conversation—and walked back the way Peter had come from. Noriko simply made eye contact with her boyfriend and gave him an apologetic look that made him sigh before he trudged over to sit down beside her.

"Well…" Noriko started, her eyes focused on her boots "For the record, I think you were very brave."

"It wasn't bravery," Peter replied promptly as the past ten minutes floated through his mind "I wasn't even _thinking._ Just, he-he tried to _kill_ you and then he tried to act like-like-like he was _right_ to do it and that I should agree with him or-or-or that I need to be _saved_ and all the awful things he said about you and—."

Noriko sighed slightly as the inevitable happened and she buried her hand into her right pocket as she spoke.

"Peter, Peter, it's okay," she said softly as she finally retrieved what she was searching for and started to pull the tissues but of the thin packaging "No need to cry."

"I know," Peter murmured, rubbing his eyes before Noriko lifted her hand and gently wiped away the tears on his cheeks. This had happened enough times that not only did Noriko carry around a package of travel tissues (that she insisted were really for the people they helped but had never actually given one any), but for there to be a routine to it. Noriko would start by gently dabbing at his tears and only once he'd calmed down slightly would he take control and really clean himself up. It was familiar and comfortable, which meant Peter felt no awkwardness letting the next words fall from his mouth.

"I was just so angry," he mumbled through the tears Noriko was doing her best to wipe away "I-I hate when people say things like that a-about you."

"I know," Noriko replied, gently trying to dry his eyes with one hand while the other snaked to wrap around his middle "It upsets me too. But… I've come to accept that there is nothing I can do about it. There's nothing I can do to convince people otherwise about me, so why even bother?"

"I know, but…" Peter shook his head "I'm-I'm sorry you had to hear all that stuff."

"Don't apologize," Noriko said simply "I'm not sad or angry right now. I'm actually kind of happy. And that's despite the fact that we're apparently going along with the dumbass plan to just go to the bad guy's lair. You know why?"

"Why?" Peter asked, looking up to see the slightest quirk of a smile on Noriko's lips.

"Because you care so much."

"Of course I do," Peter replied promptly, a true smile now appearing on Noriko's expression.

"I know, but it's still nice to hear it."

For a moment, it was quiet between the two as the tears finally stopped falling from Peter's eyes and Noriko gently rubbed circles onto his back as he pulled himself together. Not a second after Peter thought to himself that he felt better now, Noriko was speaking.

"Hey, Nerd."

"What?" Peter said, wary of his girlfriend's familiar, teasing tone but a small smile finding its way onto his face nevertheless.

"With the amount you talk about Star Wars and Trek and Asgard, I have to imagine that right now you're living some fantasy." A funny smile taking over Noriko's expression as her hand slipped from resting on his back to wrapping around his waist "And honestly I think we should go for it and make out. I mean, assuming we survive this and somehow get back to Earth, you can tell all your geek friends you made out with someone on a spaceship."

"Noriko, _here?"_ Peter said through giggles "There might be more bad guys. Or-or Mr. Stark could come looking for us."

"If there were more people on board we would've known by now," Noriko countered "And honestly, let Stark walk in. See if I care."

 _"Noriko,"_ Peter admonished, his smile never disappearing.

"Come on," she replied, her tone coaxing "I mean, I'm no _Thor,_ but—."

"Hey!" Peter said, moving a little out of her arms as he gave her an affronted expression with a smile that counteracted all of it "Shut up!"

"What?" Noriko said, her conniving smile letting Peter know he wouldn't be getting away anytime soon "I'm just saying, I'm certain that nine out of ten space related fantasies of yours involve Thor and I'm just hoping you can settle for the other one."

"The other one involves Han Solo."

"Oh, you little shit."

Peter's laughter rang throughout the corridor as Noriko pinned him down on his back, tickling him in the process.

.

Most of the time he wasn't a huge fan of violence. Only when it was in a situation where it needed to happen for the greater good or it served him in some manner, especially if that manner was amusement.

But still, in comparison to the people he spent nearly all of his time with, he was a downright pacifist. He didn't feel the innate need to murder the way some of his shipmates did and he only broke the law when it served himself in some way. Plus he'd only blew up that one planet and it was a living one intent on destroying the galaxy, so he counted that one as not as bad as his best friend's husband's intense interest in bombs that could blow up moons.

But none of that really mattered, because he found himself taking some deep pleasure in watching that fucking ship crash. Because he knew who was in there (or at least who they worked for) and those sons of bitches deserved to smash their stupid ship into the planet. And they deserved what was going to happen next.

Maybe it wasn't the smartest plan, but none of his impulse control was here with him, so he did as his gut told him and went in guns blazing. Unfortunately though, he might've underestimated what was waiting for them on the inside.

These people, the ones that had crashed the ship, were very odd looking. They didn't look like any of the other henchmen that Thanos had running around. But if there was anything good in the world, there was the possibility that Thanos was having a little bit of trouble with recruitment. I mean, who would work for that guy willingly, or at least be devoted in the way Gamora had described her siblings?

People who could kind of hold their own against the Guardians of the Galaxy, apparently.

Even though they had the element of surprise, things feel to chaos quickly and before he knew it, he had one of these weird Thanos minions in a chokehold with a gun to his head. But, the rest of his team didn't fare too well; Drax being held at gun(?) point and Mantis—aw _man, Mantis—_ with some rope around her neck being tightened by the veiled figure that held it.

"Everybody stay where you are," Peter called out, his mind working a mile a minute as he realized that despite his hope after the call from Nebula, it seemed that his girl was _not_ on this ship "Where is Gamora?"

"Yeah. I'll do you one better," One of Thanos's men replied "Who is Gamora?"

"I'll do you one better," Drax jumped in "Why is Gamora?

"Tell me where my girl is or I swear to you I'm gonna French fry this little freak," Peter said, unable to bring himself to be diplomatic even though he knew he probably should be if he didn't want to lose even more of his family.

"Let's do it. You shoot my guy and I'll blast him. Let's go!" The one who spoke before replied, just as uncaring and violent as Peter would've expected. But, what occurred next was _not_ what he would've predicted from a bunch of Thanos's minions.

"Oh my _god, shut the fuck up!"_ The one that held Mantis captive yelled at her conspirator before turning to Peter with one hand out (the other never releasing the line from around his friend's neck) "We don't know who Gamora is, but you know what a French fry is. Who are you? Are you from _Earth?"_

"I'm not from Earth, I'm from Missouri," Peter spat, refusing to calm down even as this person spoke rationally.

"Yeah, that's on Earth, dipshit," the original one to speak piped in, helping Peter keep up his anger.

"Will you please stop trying to rile up the guy with a gun to Peter's head?" The composed one said before turning back to Peter (who felt confusion wash over him at the usage of his name) and reaching up to pull down the hood and mask in one movement; revealing a youthful face that seemed very, _very_ Terran "My name's Noriko. I'm from New York. So is he."

Peter felt his gun arm droop slightly at that, but he forced himself to hold firm by thinking of the last time he'd seen Gamora. The look on her face… He _refused_ for that to be the last time he'd see her.

"I don't care if Thanos set up some enlistment booth back on Terra," Peter replied, managing to hold onto his intense feelings, although they slipped further away as he took in the concerned expression on the face of the woman in front of him "All I care about is getting my girl back. Preferably by beating it out of that giant purple prick."

"So you're not with Thanos?" A small voice spoke up from beside him, Peter looking down to see what had covered the face of his captive had peeled away to reveal a very young, very Terran looking man.

"No," Peter replied, slightly outraged by the suggestion but loosening his hold on the kid all the same "I'm here to kill Thanos. He took my girl. Wait, who are you?"

"We're people trying to stop Thanos," Noriko replied evenly "So, how about you stop pointing a gun at my boyfriend's head, I take my billy club off of your friend's neck, and we help each other instead of pointlessly fighting?"

Peter felt his gun arm drop and this time it stayed that way; the moment of worry as he let his bargaining chip go passing quickly as Noriko stuck to her word and released Mantis. The two switched spots without even thinking about it and Peter vaguely noticed as he looked over the younger woman for damage that Noriko was doing the same time with her boyfriend.

"Who are you?" A man that had been quiet until now said, pulling off a mask to reveal his Terran features and moving to stand beside Noriko.

"Star-Lord," Peter paused for laughter that never came "Um, Peter Quill. This is Mantis and that's Drax. Can I have him back?"

Four of the people opposite turned their eyes onto this fifth, who sighed dramatically and stepped back to allow Drax to get back up and walk over to his friends.

"I didn't require your assistance, Quill," He said "I could've taken it."

"Yeah, you're welcome," Peter said, rolling his eyes before turning back to Noriko "Usually there's more of us, but my best friend and her stupid partner bounced with Thor and G—."

Before Peter had to muddle through painful memories to give a full explanation of what was going on, the people who _should_ be listening quietly responded without a care.

"Wait, _Thor?"_ The one that Peter was rapidly deciding he didn't like interrupted "You know _Thor?_ "

"Tall guy, not that good looking, needed saving?" Peter asked, not noticing the face the kid next to Noriko made "Yeah, we know him. He came onto my ship like he owned the place and then left with two of my best friends. Not a big fan of his. Wait, how do _you_ know Thor?"

"We were on the same team, we saved the world together," he replied, Noriko humming slightly at that last bit but saying nothing.

"You are The Avengers," Mantis offered, her eyes wide "Thor told us about them."

"Eh, he's _an_ Avenger," Noriko jumped in, gesturing between the triad that stood in front of them "Us three aren't affiliated with that whole thing and I don't think Strange is either. We're not dumb enough to join."

"Thor certainly seems to be," Peter replied, unable to stop himself as his lips quirked up, Noriko responding in kind. Sure, less than a minute go they had been willing to murder each other's friends, but he couldn't deny he liked this chick.

"Yeah, I mean, I never met Thor, but my whole estimation of any of the Avengers went downhill when I realized they worked with Tony Stark over there."

Before any thoughts or any words were spoken, Peter's arms flung out; his hands covering his teammates' mouths. There was a tense moment of silence as everyone stood still, a majority unsure of what was occurring while one's mind had to reorganize from the scatter that name had caused.

It was… It was _impossible,_ right? That was literally not a thing that could ever be possible. Except… they were from Terra, and he knew he was supposed to be some sort of billionaire genius, and now that he was looking at him…

A sudden sound came from behind Peter's hand as Drax's eyes lit up in understanding, but the latter simply clamped his hand down harder and gave Noriko (who was now looking at him like he was crazy) a half pleading, half shocked look. She wouldn't blame him though, if she knew that full truth. Who could? Not when he was looking right at…

"Can you give us a second please?"

Tessa's _dad._


	6. Always Ready For A War Again

As the battle raged on outside, the lab inside the Wakandan palace was nearly silent. Shuri had invented a noise blocker ages ago that she used when the sounds of the outside world were just a little too much for her to focus. And focus was what they needed right now.

Two pairs of hands flew at a rapid pace; desperately trying to remove the stone from the android before too much damage was done to those protecting Wakanda. What should've been a job that took weeks had become one that needed to be done in an hour at the very most. But luckily, the two women tasked with this were the only two people in the galaxy who might actually be able to accomplish exactly that.

A handful of Dora Milaje guarded them—stoic expressions revealing none of the true emotions they were experiencing—and at the window stood a young woman who's expression was anything but stoic. She wasn't a sentry though, and she certainly hadn't received any training on how to hold it together in a situation like this. Although she couldn't hear what was happening outside the room, there was no turning her eyes away from the battle that raged on. The battle that might be the end of everything she held dear.

All at once, she tore herself away from the window and spoke rapidly as she headed towards the door.

"I'm sorry, but I can't stay here. Call me when it's done and I will come, but I cannot wait."

Two pairs of brown eyes flashed up from their work and over to the woman crossing the room, but only one set stayed on her as Shuri returned to her work. Brown met with green and she nodded, although the words that followed seemed to contradict.

"Wanda, wait."

She paused—clearly not planning on staying if this was anything other than a momentary desire—and turned to face the woman who had spoken. For the first time in what felt like hours, she removed her fingers from where she was rerouting and reached under the table Vision laid on; pulling out a few small disks and throwing them to Wanda.

"I gave them to the others," she said simply "Press the button in the center and put it over a wound. It can—should—sustain someone long enough for them to get to a medic or something."

"How far gone can they be?" Wanda asked, her voice faltering slightly but going unmentioned. For a moment, the brown eyes flashed to one another again and shared a significant look before Shuri returned to her work and the other to Wanda.

"Very far."

Wanda gave a jerky nod before she forced something akin to a smile onto her face; her body already turning to the door when she spoke next.

"Thank you, Jade."

There was another nod and that was it. Wanda left, and Jade returned to the work she and Shuri had been tasked with. But it was blatantly obvious that she wasn't in it like she had been before. It wasn't just that her focus had been shattered and now she needed to regain it; there was something else. Something was on Jade's mind.

.

"Uh-oh."

Three heads jerked up at those murmured words, but Tessa just sent them a look that put them at ease. She probably should've thought through using any negative interjections while they were in a tense situation like facing Thanos. She was just so used to taking everything lightly that she wasn't good at being serious. Not even when they were facing down the destruction of the galaxy were they as tense as they were right now.

"What is it, Blondie?" Rocket asked, his casual voice waking her out of her reverie.

"So uh, remember how you and I were messing with those speakers while we worked that job on Kree?" She asked "The ones that amplify out for miles?"

"Yeah?" Rocket replied, still not looking at Tessa. But that was more out of familiarity than anything else.

"Well, I put the speakers and Peter's Zune into my bag." Rocket finally looked back towards the seat behind him to see Tessa held up the familiar bulky rectangle "And I never took them out."

Scratchy laughter filled the small ship that the four were packed into and Tessa shook her head slightly in response, although a small smile couldn't help but twist her lips.

"Oh, he's gonna kill you for that one, Tess," Rocket said through his glee.

"Whatever," Tessa replied, rolling her eyes as she threw the Zune back into her bag and dropped it onto the floor of the pod.

Once Rocket laughter had drifted away, quiet took over the craft and Tessa sighed and slouched down in her seat a little further as the monotony of space set in yet again. Anything that she would usually do to break it involved things she wasn't comfortable doing in front of a stranger. Sure, this guy seemed cool enough, but she didn't feel like acting like her completely normal self around him just yet. She had half a mind to reach back into the bag and retrieve the Zune just to break her own personal silence when a wobbly and scratchy voice came from beside her.

"I am Groot."

"Just go in a cup," Tessa replied evenly, Rocket humming in agreement.

"I am _Groot."_

"We're not looking," Rocket said as Tessa held back a chuckle "What's there to see? What's a twig? Everybody's seen a twig before."

"I am Groot."

"Tree, pour what's in the cup out into space and go in the cup again."

Both Rocket's and Tessa's eyebrows shot up as they turned to look at the man who stood at the back of the ship, who had been looking out of the porthole and into space with a contemplative expression.

"You speak Groot?" Rocket asked incredulously.

"Yes, it was taught on Asgard, it was an elective," Thor said, Tessa noticing how his shoulders dropped slightly at the mention of his homeworld.

"I am Groot."

"You'll know when we're close," Thor said, answering Groot's question "Nidavellir's forge harnesses the blazing power of a neutron star. It's the birthplace of my hammer. It's truly awesome."

For a moment it was quiet as Rocket and Tessa exchanged a look. Both had heard how the heaviness had returned to Thor's voice and there was no missing the way the weight had fully returned to his shoulders. They'd only been able to gather bits and pieces of this man's background, but it was clear that he was due for more than his fair share of mourning.

It was silent as Rocket jerked his head back towards Thor and then sent a significant look to Tessa, who sighed in exasperation and sent him a desperate one in return. They said nothing as they argued over what to do next entirely in movements, but that quiet was finally broken by Rocket murmuring words that were just loud enough for her to hear.

"Go be the Captain."

Tessa sent him a dirty look as he took a cheap shot, but she stood nonetheless and moseyed over where Thor was sitting with his head lowered.

"So," she murmured as she sat down on the bench with about a foot of space separating them "Sorry about your brother. That… That must suck, I can't imagine."

"He's been dead before," Thor replied casually, gaining a look of confusion from Tessa "But this time… It feels different, it feels real."

"What about the rest of your family?" Tessa asked gently, Thor's expression staying the same.

"All dead," he said simply, Tessa grimacing slightly.

"Um, sorry, bro," she offered, reaching up to awkwardly pat him on the shoulder; softly swearing as she was reminded just how ripped this guy is.

"Your sympathy is appreciated," he said, Tessa sighing as she realized that—while it might be appreciated—what she was doing right now wasn't enough.

"You know," she started slowly "My family—my biological family—I haven't spoken to in, geez, eleven years? They didn't die—well, my mom did, and I guess they could be dead now, I haven't exactly kept up on them. Ignore that, I'm rambling. Anyway, my old family, I loved parts of and other parts hurt me. I realized that I couldn't keep living with that, so I left and now I have a new family. Rocket, Groot, Peter, Gamora, everyone you met on the Milano; they're my family. And I love them so much, I never realized a family like that could exist until I met them. It sounds like I'm bragging now, I'm sorry, I'm just… I'm trying to say that just because you lost your first family, maybe you'll find another one."

As Tessa's ramble petered off, she felt embarrassment start to creep up her spine and to her cheeks. Maybe that wasn't the right thing to say. Maybe he would think she was just trying to sweep his pain away. She never knew how to deal with stuff like this; she used to be good at pretending, but she'd stopped playing that part a long time ago.

But her worries were unfounded, because Thor smiled slightly and looked over at her with a soft expression and something unfathomable in his eyes. Tessa readjusted uncomfortably in her seat slightly but said nothing; he was looking at her as if her words had been more than awkward mumbling, like she had done more—revealed more—than she'd thought.

"That's a lovely sentiment, Lady Tessa," he said before his eyes drifted down to his hands "Unfortunately, I can't take any comfort in that right now. I must focus on Thanos. There's only a fraction of Asgard left and I… I need to stop Thanos before he wipes out even more."

"That's understandable. Admirable even," Tessa said with a soft huff of laughter "Especially since I think most people wouldn't be surprised if you curled up in a ball and did nothing for a couple of years."

"Rage and vengeance, anger, loss, regret... They're all tremendous motivators," Thor said and Tessa smiled with teeth, although there didn't seem to be much humor or amusement behind it.

"Sure, but… This guy, Thanos… I ain't never met him—not personally—but you might need a little something more than anger to fuel you on this endeavor."

"I do," Thor said honestly, looking over to lock eyes with Tessa for the first time since she had sat beside him "I have traveled much of this universe in my 1500 years. Every world I have stepped foot on I have done everything in my power to do the right thing and to protect those who need it. From Asgard to Vanaheim to Earth."

"You've been to Earth," Tessa said softly, interrupting slightly as she latched onto one part of Thor's words. But he didn't seem to mind and levelled her with a thoughtful look. He didn't speak right away, but when he did, it was clear that there was far more in his brain than the words he spoke.

"Earth is your homeworld," He said simply, Tessa nodding before a small, pained smile took over her expression.

"It's been a while," she admitted, Thor nodding but not pressing.

"Well, I have been there in your absence, I spent quite a bit of my time on that planet, learning the cultures and the people. And I have protected those people— _your_ people from multiple invasions," he said before his serious expression slipped away and he cleared his throat "Three of which might've been Asgard's fault, but anyway—I have been there for your people, and countless others. I have faced innumerable amounts of enemies, and yet I always come out on top. It's clear to me now that I am here because fate has willed it. Fate has made me the protector of these worlds, and Thanos is just another in a long line of bastards trying to harm them."

For a long moment, it was quiet as Thor's words sunk in. Tessa's eyes drift off of the aged warrior and to the ground before she spoke her true feelings.

"Shit," she said simply, puffing out a deep breath of air "I guess that's a pretty good motivation."

Then, she turned her serious expression onto Thor, but before she could look at him that way for too long, her face split into a wide grin.

"I guess third times a charm; let's go save the galaxy."

.

"I've had a thought."

Shuri's eyes flashed upwards to the woman across from her, but they soon returned what was at hand. There was no time for casual chats and anything that needed to be said could be while they worked.

"And that is?"

"Well," Jade cleared her throat and Shuri's brow furrowed at the discomfort in her voice—neither pausing as they worked "With the way everything is going outside, I wonder if maybe my talents are needed elsewhere."

"It would be better to speed up this process than to run outside and shoot people," Shuri countered, Jade licking her lips before she spoke again; her voice slower now. She was clearly choosing each word she spoke with great deliberation.

"What if… What if I were to bring something more than myself?"

"What're you talking about?" Shuri said, her voice raising slightly in volume as she got more than a little annoyed; they needed to focus on removing the stone from Vision, not whatever Jade was going on about. But the older woman didn't meet Shuri's fire with her own, and instead spoke in a voice even slower and quieter than before.

"What if I were to bring the weapon in the basement?"

Shuri's fingers slowed and for a moment it was quiet. But before it lasted long enough for the Dora Milaje around them to notice, she had begun again.

"That seems – it seems to be a last resort," she said and it was the woman across from her whose movements paused this time; Jade sighed slightly before she spoke with her eyes downcast.

"I think we've reached that."

Shuri looked up to make eye contact with Jade and for a moment neither said anything. Then, the teenage princess gave a quick nod, and Jade sighed again. Almost as if she wasn't entirely convinced of her own idea. But it was sanctioned by royalty, so instead of coming up with excuses, Jade stood up straight and turned to walk out of the room. But just like the last person to attempt to leave, she was momentarily stopped.

"Jade," Shuri said, getting her attention before she spoke "You're going to need to stop by my main lab if—if you want the weapon to work at optimal performance."

Jade gave a sharp nod and after one more moment of lingering, she walked out the door.

.

When the quartet arrived at Nidavellir, the silence had been overwhelming. Everything Thor had been saying about the forge wasn't true any longer, and the only dwarf they'd come across was Eitri—the only one left, thanks to Thanos. It was eerie to stand in this place and know that just a week or so ago it had been full of life. This was what Thanos did—Tessa thought solemnly as she looked around dark forge—he destroyed and pretended that it was kindness.

"I don't think you get the scientifics here," Rocket said, pulling Tessa out of her heavy thoughts as she heard her husband speak to Thor over the comms "These rings are gigantic. You wanna get them moving... you're gonna need something a lot bigger to yank 'em loose."

"Leave that to me," Thor said from his spot standing on the rings themselves, holding onto a rope attached to the ship. From Tessa's position (with Groot and Eitri at the melting location in the forge) she could just make out the ship and the god across the forge.

"Leave it to you? Buddy, you're in space. All you got is a rope and a—."

Tessa's jaw dropped as she watched as Thor grabbed ahold of the rope and swung the ship around with an unsettling amount of ease. Once he stopped whirling it around, Rocket hit the gas and Thor dug his heels into the rings; the force managing to move them and start the forge yet again.

But before any of them could get too happy or enjoy the beauty of Nidavellir too much, something snapped and the light of the star disappeared yet again.

"Damn it," Eitri said "The mechanism is crippled. With the iris closed, I can't heat the metal."

"How long will it take to heat it?" Thor asked, Tessa huffing and running a hand through her blonde bob as she considered this new setback. Nothing could ever be easy for them, huh?

"A few minutes, maybe more. Why?"

"I'm gonna hold it open."

Once again, Tessa's jaw dropped. Only this time it wasn't out of amazement or anything flattering.

"Thor, that's _insane,"_ she interjected, flinging her arm out as if he could see her.

"That's suicide," Eitri agreed.

"And facing Thanos without that axe is both," Thor said simply as he headed towards the core of the forge, but Tessa didn't allow him to get off that easily.

"Nobody can survive that much force, not even you," she said, hopping out of her seat as if she could walk the distance to where he was standing on the rings and pull him back into the inner parts of the forge "Thor, that _will_ kill you."

"Only if I die," he responded curtly, Tessa laughing hysterically.

"What about the people you need to protect? What about Asgard and Earth? You can't do that if you're dead. Think with your brain, not your hammer!" she demanded and for the first time her words seemed to get through to him, although not to the effect that Tessa had been hoping for. Instead of admitting he was acting like a crazy person and thinking of a new plan, Thor swung around to face her direction with a taut expression. Despite the space that separated them—and she would never admit this—Tessa took a step back when he did.

"I am a warrior, but I have not spent my 1500 years mindlessly killing one enemy after another. My wisdom is hard won through centuries of mistakes. I have traveled from one end of this universe to the other and protected their people, but I have also learned from them. I have learned their customs, their histories, where their strengths and weakness lie, and why they succeed and fail. I have raised my hammer to keep the people of this universe from harm, and in turn they have given me lessons one can never learn as an elective on Asgard. So yes, I am a warrior, but do not think for one moment, _Daughter of Stark,_ that I am _stupid."_

.

The battle felt as if it had lasted for years. The warriors fighting for Wakanda—for the world—were truly formidable to say the least, but their enemies kept coming and coming. It was almost as if they were endless. It seemed that if they fought for a thousand years, more creatures would come pouring through the gap and onto the battlefield. But they held strong. No matter how they ripped at them and knocked them down, they continued to fight.

At one end of the field, Maria grunted as she tore a one of the dogs apart; her sound was partially from the effort she was exerting, but mostly because when she ripped them they had a tendency to bleed their insides on her and that was particularly disgusting. But she had no time to focus on that as four more creatures took its place and she was back to square one

At the other, Black Panther and Captain America fought comparatively side-by-side—there was no way to stay close to one another as more and more of Thanos's army made it through the hole and attacked them. But T'Challa and Steve held far more than their own against them, something that they were starting to notice.

They might not have heard the command that came from the commanders of the army, but they felt the impact immediately; the army seemed to refocus all of their efforts onto _them._ The dogs attacked them all at once and although T'Challa and Steve were the greatest of warriors in the universe, the mass amount of attention turned onto them was unbeatable by two people. Nobody else was close enough to help them; everyone had seen how they were faring and had spread out to hold back more of the army. It wasn't easy to make their way to the overwhelmed King and Captain.

T'Challa grunted as he fell onto his back and the creatures immediately piled on top of him. Although they couldn't tear through is suit, the weight and the pull of these monsters were enough to even make the Black Panther panic a little. Before he could get his arms together into the salute to at least get a few of them off of him, it abruptly became unnecessary.

T'Challa scrambled into a sitting position as the creatures were cleared off of him and his mask retracted to reveal his shocked expression. He didn't immediately see the look levelled on him as he tore through the aliens that had just been ganging up on T'Challa. But when he final noticed the look of fear, confusion, and surprise that painted the face of the King, he smiled that familiar grin; gold grillz glinting in the Wakandan sun.

But instead of saying anything to him, he turned back towards the army that was rapidly retreating from them as they recognized the power of this unknown fighter. His smile didn't falter; not when he made eye contact with Jade and nodded, not when he pulled his arms into the familiar salute.

"Wakanda Forever!" Erik Stevens—Prince N'Jadaka—roared for the universe to hear.


End file.
